Polls can be deadly, just ask Kevin Rudd whose political life as PM was ended as a result of unsatisfactory polls. But that may not be the end of that saga as the heir apparent and unpopularly elected PM, Gillard may well feel the same piece of steel blade in her own back should there be a shift at the polls closer to the next election. What is interesting however, is the fact that often there is a major difference between what is seen as public opinion at polls and how politicians and the media behave. (George Ikners ikners.com Joomla)
If you think back to Viet Nam there was large support for ending our involvement but the politicians and the media continued as if their proclaimed to continue the murder was intact. Similarly there is or seems to be a major portion of the population against a war in Afghanistan or at least sending our troops there. There seems little sympathy for the Afghans who are suffering on such a grim scale.
Now we have North Korea and no doubt the war mongering arms dealers are rubbing their hands in delight at the thought of major deployments of troops, military equipment and the like. Racists would be welcoming the opportunity to teach these yellow sub-humans yet another lesson in Western values.
In a recent survey it seems that in the US there is no great fervour for marching off to support the South Koreans as suggested by Obama. Make no mistake about it, the North has been so thoroughly demonised and set upon by the politicians and the media that the truth is not just a casualty but has already been declared dead.
War is a criminal act and no benefit ever flows from the simple act of murder. A recent poll in the US seems to be saying that over there that, “Obama Administration officials made a big show of pledging to commit American soldiers to a potential resumption of the Korean War, and the head of the US Air Force even offered to “pitch in” if South Korea started launching bombing raids against the North. But a new Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll showed a large majority of Americans are averse to getting involved in a new Korean War.”
So far you can see that there is an aversion it seems to even getting involved. There are further figures and comment at the AntiWar site at link. This is to the extent that,” Indeed, 56 percent of Americans opposed unilateral military action in the extremely unlikely event that North Korea launched an all-out invasion on the South. The poll also showed massive opposition to the US taking it upon themselves to “punish” North Korea for affronts against the South.”
What follows this figure is the observation that, “ Of course, while tensions are on the rise on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of this week’s brief artillery clash, a ground invasion by the struggling North seems remarkably unlikely. In fact, even official war games held in and around the peninsula universally assume an invasion of the North in an attempt to stabilize the nation or enforce a regime change, not the other way around.”
That comment is precipitated by the scope and nature of the incidents in the seas near the North involving the US and the South. The conclusion reached in those circumstances is not that startling.
What comes next is interesting. If history is any guide there will be a military action against the North, all that is needed is a sufficiently and so called provocative act to be attributed to the North, then Viet Nam style the money making, murder and destruction starts almost immediately. All promising to be another Obama war. You may remember Obama as being heralded as some sort of saviour from this type of behaviour.
If past history continues Australian style we will be wherever required by the US. For the sake of national security of course. There will not be a single Australian politician other than a few Greens even remotely prepared to question the US.
George Ikners ikners.com Joomla