الحرب لا تُشن لذاتها. هي ليست غاية، بحدِ ذاتها. قد تكون الحرب تجد جذورها في الجانب العنيف من الخلفية السلبية (المتوحشة) للطبيعة الإنسانية، كما يجادل أصحاب النظرة السلبية (التشاؤمية) للطبيعة البشرية. في النهاية، الحربُ هي: من علامات ودلائل الحياة على هذا الكوكب، الذي تسوده حركة الصراع بين كائناته (الحية) كأهم مظاهر وحقائق الحياة عليها نفسها، مثل الزلازل والأعاصير، والبراكين، والطوفان، والأوبئة. لولا الصراع العنيف بين كائنات الأرض المختلفة، لما عُمِّرَ الكون.. ولا انتعشت مظاهر الحياة على الأرض وتنوعت وتطورت.
لكن، إذا ما سلمنا ببديهية ضرورة الصراع العنيف من أجل الحياة وازدهارها وتنوعها وتطورها واستدامتها، فإن الحرب، أيضاً ضرورة لسيادَةِ السلام على الأرض، كغاية إلهية لعمارة الكون. حتى في عالم الحيوان، حركة الصراع العنيف بين أجناسها المختلفة والجنس الواحد منها، تكون قصيرة في مواسم معينة، عند التزاوج مثلاً، تظهر بشائر الهدوء والسلام عند ولادة أجيال جديدة من نفس النوع، مع الوقت تتغلب بينها نقاوة الجنس مع تطور غريزة البقاء، بطفرات جينية متعاقبة، تسودها نوعية متجددة للحياة، في بيئة أكثر استقراراً وأدعى سلاماً.
فالأصل، في الحياة على الأرض، هو: سيادة السلام، لا استدامة الصراع والعنف. من هنا تكون غاية الصراع، رغم عنفه، كما يتجلى في تطرفه في ظاهرة الحرب، هو السلام. من هنا نلاحظ: أن فترات الحروب قصيرة، بينما دورات السلام طويلة، تتقدم تعزيزاً للسلام، من حقبة تاريخية وأخرى.
لكن الحروب، من أهم حقائق طبيعتها العنيفة، أنها من حقبة تاريخية لأخرى، تُضعف «شهية» التمتع بسيادة السلام، أمام إغراءات وغوايات الحنين للانجذاب عودةً لإحياء حركة الصراع، طمعاً وأملاً في استتباب حقبة جديدة من سيادة سلامٍ أكثر استقراراً وأقرب استدامةً، وأدعى هدوءاً.
لكن، أحياناً، بل وكثيراً ما يخفي نداء الحرب في ضمير مَنْ لاحت له فرصة كسبها، من أجل تغيير وضع قائم، إلى وضع أكثر ملاءمة لتحقيق مصالحه، بأقل تكلفة ممكنة وأكبر عائد محتمل. هنا يتطور أخطر مسببات نشوب الحروب، في تطور حالة من «الطمع والأنانية» في عالم أكثر استقراراً وأدعى ملاءمةً لخدمة الطرف، الذي زينت له حساباته (الخاطئة) أنه بالحرب سوف ينتقل من حقبة تاريخية إلى أخرى أفضل دعةً وأضمن سلاماً، فيقدم على الإخلال بميزان القوى السائد، فيلجأ لتجربة حظه من جديد، بشن حربٍ جديدة.
هنا نأتي لمرحلة السلام (الزائف)، الذي يصل لحالة الوهم الخادع. الحرب، هي مرحلة متقدمة من حركة الصراع، تستبد خلال تطورها «نشوة» النصر الزائف دون النظر لتكلفةِ خوض غمار الحرب. مهما كانت الثقة في إمكانات الطرف الذي تتراءى له فرصة شن الحرب عن بُعد، دون حساب تكلفتها الباهظة عليه، مقارنةً بعائدها الغامض، بدقة.
ثم إن للحرب مشروعية خاصة بها كثيراً ما تغيب عن حسابات أطرافها، بالذات الطرف الذي بدأ بشن الحرب. إستراتيجياً من السهل إشعال فتيل الحرب، لكن من الصعب إطفاء سعيرها عند تفجرها. الحرب ما أن يأخذ سعيرها في الامتداد والتوسع، يصعب، إن لم يستحل أحياناً، السيطرة على استعار جحيمها. عندها الحرب، لم تعد إدارتها بإرادة أطرافها، بل بإرادة الحرب، نفسها. الحربُ، في كثيرٍ من الأحيان عندما يفقد أطرافها القدرة على السيطرة عليها يستمر جحيمها في الاستعار، حتى تفقد وقودها الذاتي، بعد أن تحيل مسرحها إلى دمار مستعر، يخلّف بيئة اجتماعية وسياسية واقتصادية تحتاج إلى تكاليف باهظة لإعادة تأهيلها من جديد، استعادةً لحالة سلام صعب ومكلف يكون أقرب لإحياء حالة صراع متجددة، تلد فيها الحربُ حرباً جديدة.
غواية وإغراء الانجرار إلى الحربِ أخطر ما في التفكير في قرار شنها، بدايةً. نادرة هي الحروب الحاسمة، التي ينجم عنها نصرٌ مؤزرٌ مقابل هزيمة ساحقة، تبشر بحقبة سلام مقبلة. أما الحروب، التي أحياناً ما تعكس خطأً جسيماً في حسابات تكلفتها وعائدها من قبل أطرافها، فتنتج عنها في كثير من الأحيان وضعية غير مستقرة تسود فيها حالة من وهم السلام الزائف، الذي ما يلبث التحضير لحربٍ جديدة، أشد عنفاً ودماراً وتكلفةً.
ليست كل حربٍ تخدم غاية شنّها النبيلة. السلام، كغاية لشن الحرب، من الصعب تحقيقه، في ظل سيطرة غوايات أطرافها، الذين استسلموا لإغراءات شنّها.
تابع قناة عكاظ على الواتساب
The war is not waged for its own sake. It is not an end in itself. War may find its roots in the violent side of the negative (savage) background of human nature, as argued by proponents of a pessimistic view of human nature. In the end, war is one of the signs and indicators of life on this planet, which is dominated by the movement of conflict among its (living) beings as one of the most important manifestations and truths of life itself, like earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, floods, and epidemics. Without the violent conflict among the different beings of the earth, the universe would not have been populated, nor would the manifestations of life on earth have thrived, diversified, and evolved.
However, if we accept the obvious necessity of violent conflict for life, its prosperity, diversity, evolution, and sustainability, then war is also a necessity for the supremacy of peace on earth, as a divine goal for the cultivation of the universe. Even in the animal kingdom, the movement of violent conflict among its different species and within the same species is brief during certain seasons, such as during mating, where signs of calm and peace emerge with the birth of new generations of the same kind. Over time, the purity of the species prevails with the development of the survival instinct, through successive genetic mutations, leading to a renewed quality of life in a more stable and peaceful environment.
The essence of life on earth is: the supremacy of peace, not the sustainability of conflict and violence. From here, the goal of conflict, despite its violence, as manifested in the extremity of war, is peace. Hence, we observe that periods of war are short, while cycles of peace are long, advancing the reinforcement of peace from one historical era to another.
However, wars, from the most important truths of their violent nature, weaken the "appetite" for enjoying the supremacy of peace, in the face of temptations and allurements of nostalgia for the return to reviving the movement of conflict, in greed and hope for the establishment of a new era of more stable and sustainable peace, and a more tranquil existence.
Yet, sometimes, and often, the call of war hides in the conscience of those who see an opportunity to win it, in order to change an existing situation to one more suitable for achieving their interests, at the lowest possible cost and the greatest potential return. Here, the most dangerous causes of wars' outbreak develop, in a state of "greed and selfishness" in a more stable world that seems more suitable to serve the party, whose (incorrect) calculations have led them to believe that through war they will transition from one historical era to another that is more peaceful and guaranteed. They proceed to disrupt the balance of power, resorting to trying their luck again by launching a new war.
Here we come to the stage of (false) peace, which reaches a state of deceptive illusion. War is an advanced stage of the movement of conflict, during which the "ecstasy" of false victory takes over without considering the cost of engaging in the war. No matter how confident the party that perceives an opportunity to wage war from a distance is, without accounting for its exorbitant cost compared to its ambiguous return, accurately.
Moreover, war has its own legitimacy that often eludes the calculations of its parties, especially the party that initiated the war. Strategically, it is easy to ignite the fuse of war, but it is difficult to extinguish its flames once they erupt. Once the flames of war begin to spread and expand, it becomes difficult, if not impossible at times, to control the inferno. At that point, the management of the war is no longer in the hands of its parties, but in the will of war itself. War, often, when its parties lose control over it, continues to rage until it exhausts its own fuel, after turning its stage into a raging destruction, leaving a social, political, and economic environment that requires exorbitant costs to rehabilitate it anew, in a difficult and costly restoration of peace that is closer to reviving a renewed state of conflict, where war begets a new war.
The temptation and allure of being drawn into war is the most dangerous aspect of considering the decision to wage it, to begin with. Wars that are decisive, resulting in a significant victory against a crushing defeat, heralding an upcoming era of peace, are rare. On the other hand, wars that sometimes reflect a grave error in calculating their cost and return by their parties often result in an unstable situation dominated by a state of false peace, which soon prepares for a new war, more violent, destructive, and costly.
Not every war serves a noble purpose for which it is waged. Peace, as a goal for waging war, is difficult to achieve under the control of the temptations of its parties, who have succumbed to the allure of waging it.
However, if we accept the obvious necessity of violent conflict for life, its prosperity, diversity, evolution, and sustainability, then war is also a necessity for the supremacy of peace on earth, as a divine goal for the cultivation of the universe. Even in the animal kingdom, the movement of violent conflict among its different species and within the same species is brief during certain seasons, such as during mating, where signs of calm and peace emerge with the birth of new generations of the same kind. Over time, the purity of the species prevails with the development of the survival instinct, through successive genetic mutations, leading to a renewed quality of life in a more stable and peaceful environment.
The essence of life on earth is: the supremacy of peace, not the sustainability of conflict and violence. From here, the goal of conflict, despite its violence, as manifested in the extremity of war, is peace. Hence, we observe that periods of war are short, while cycles of peace are long, advancing the reinforcement of peace from one historical era to another.
However, wars, from the most important truths of their violent nature, weaken the "appetite" for enjoying the supremacy of peace, in the face of temptations and allurements of nostalgia for the return to reviving the movement of conflict, in greed and hope for the establishment of a new era of more stable and sustainable peace, and a more tranquil existence.
Yet, sometimes, and often, the call of war hides in the conscience of those who see an opportunity to win it, in order to change an existing situation to one more suitable for achieving their interests, at the lowest possible cost and the greatest potential return. Here, the most dangerous causes of wars' outbreak develop, in a state of "greed and selfishness" in a more stable world that seems more suitable to serve the party, whose (incorrect) calculations have led them to believe that through war they will transition from one historical era to another that is more peaceful and guaranteed. They proceed to disrupt the balance of power, resorting to trying their luck again by launching a new war.
Here we come to the stage of (false) peace, which reaches a state of deceptive illusion. War is an advanced stage of the movement of conflict, during which the "ecstasy" of false victory takes over without considering the cost of engaging in the war. No matter how confident the party that perceives an opportunity to wage war from a distance is, without accounting for its exorbitant cost compared to its ambiguous return, accurately.
Moreover, war has its own legitimacy that often eludes the calculations of its parties, especially the party that initiated the war. Strategically, it is easy to ignite the fuse of war, but it is difficult to extinguish its flames once they erupt. Once the flames of war begin to spread and expand, it becomes difficult, if not impossible at times, to control the inferno. At that point, the management of the war is no longer in the hands of its parties, but in the will of war itself. War, often, when its parties lose control over it, continues to rage until it exhausts its own fuel, after turning its stage into a raging destruction, leaving a social, political, and economic environment that requires exorbitant costs to rehabilitate it anew, in a difficult and costly restoration of peace that is closer to reviving a renewed state of conflict, where war begets a new war.
The temptation and allure of being drawn into war is the most dangerous aspect of considering the decision to wage it, to begin with. Wars that are decisive, resulting in a significant victory against a crushing defeat, heralding an upcoming era of peace, are rare. On the other hand, wars that sometimes reflect a grave error in calculating their cost and return by their parties often result in an unstable situation dominated by a state of false peace, which soon prepares for a new war, more violent, destructive, and costly.
Not every war serves a noble purpose for which it is waged. Peace, as a goal for waging war, is difficult to achieve under the control of the temptations of its parties, who have succumbed to the allure of waging it.
