Peace through Victory?

Question

Can anyone give any examples of where true,long lasting peace was the result without first having victory over the enemy?
Peace resulted from the victories over Japan & Germany after WW2.
It seems that in the Middle east with all the cease fires there have been over the decades, this was only a chance for the enemy to regroup and get stronger & smarter for the next attack.
Same in Africa where they are killing each other like crazy

Answer 1

You are exactly right, my friend.

A cease fire is a pause in a conflict, that will resume eventually. The issues in disagreement are still strong enough to warrant a fight.

The other big problem is that it gives time for both sides to recoup and form a new strategy. Instead of an actual fight, there is logistical warfare going on in the background until the next round of fighting breaks out. The only thing that will lead to peace is a victory by one side or a successful negotiation between both parties.

The problem here is that Hezbollah's mission is to destroy Israel. How do you come to the negotiating table with that in mind? The answer is you don't...

Answer 2

There are no examples of peace being attained through complacency. In fact, quite the contrary. World War I did not bring conquest over Germany, only an armistice. What did that lead to? Yup, World War II.

The Middle East is no different. There will never be peace in the region until the plague of fascist islamic fundamentalism is eradicated. As far as the current conflict goes, Israel should not stop its attacks until it feels it has gained total victory over the aggressors. If it does so, it will just have to go through the same cycle of war at a future date.

Answer 3

The problem with history is that there is so much of it. And when you attempt to put any event in the context of the "length" of history, how long is long & how lasting is lasting?

You mention WW2 & the Allied victory over Germany. And what came before WW2? And it ended how?

Nations rise & fall, leaders come & go.
The history of the world is a history of tribes that grow into cities that become city-states, that become countries. Not to mention those that become "empires."

Study an historical atlas. See how long the boundaries of any state remain constant. The Hundred Years War. The Thirty Years War. Rome collapsed, and Europe spent the next 1000 years remaking itself. The Moors controlled most of Spain until 1492. Muslim armies still controlled the Spice Road, making it necessary to find another route. Oops! We just discovered America! Italy & Germany didn't exist until the latter half of the 19th Century. Poland disappeared, only to reappear after the fall of the Hapsburgs with WW1.

And remember: History begins at Sumer.
The "countries" of the Middle East were carved out by Europeans for their own purposes. The region has been a series of empires, composed of what T.E. Lawrence referred to as "tribes with flags" since before Greeks emerged to do battle with Persians.

Life is a struggle. It is Darwin's "tangled bank," with animals battling to survive. The difference between men & the "lower animals" is awareness & abstract thought. Man is life aware of itself, Pascal's "thinking reed." Animals cannot imagine conquering a land they cannot see & touch. Men can.

Men are also masters of self-delusion. No matter how many leaders rise & fall, no matter how many empires, each future Caesar or Napoleon knows that it will be different for him. But it never is.

But never mind the would be empire builders. Just look at the petty politics in your own town. It is the nature of the beast. We build, we grow, we tire, become decadent, & die.

Unfortunately, there will always be those to rise up & raise armies. You can't kill them all. You can just try to buy them off & absorb them. That's what Alexander did. But he was mortal. As are we all.

Kill your enemy, burn his houses, & listen to the lamentation of his women. But, unless you are Conan the Barbarian, don't expect to find much satisfaction in it.

Enjoy what peace you can find, pity those less fortunate, caught up in the cycle of violence that is history. And keep looking over your shoulder.

There is no lasting peace. There is no final victory. Not for mere mortals. The only peace is eternal. And even that is a subject for debate.

Answer 4

Actually the Roman Empire was built on this. it lasted over 5 centuries and once they took a more liberal approach to allow the conqured people to become citizens it was their downfall. As far as the middle east as long as you have religious zeal you will never have peace and as long as you have governments exploiting "3rd World" nations for their natural resources and then leaving them with no stability you will see what you are experiencing today. My question to you is how active in politics are you and when did you last vote?

Answer 5

Peace through Superior Firepower

Answer 6

Like begets like, there will NEVER be peace through war. It is the eye for an eye concept, people (or nations) will eventually want to get even. If war ever caused there to be peace, it was only temporary, because of fear. And fear is the opposite of Love and will eventually start another war. Ghandi most certainly was successful due to his complete lack of violence.
Peace be with us all

Answer 7

Peace is only achieved when you have ;1.destroyed the enemies will to fight 2. destroyed the ability to fight 3. or both .

Cease fires only let both sides regroup and rearm to fight again later.

Answer 8

Not sure if this counts, but in the Cold War, the US was able to defeat the USSR with diplomacy and economic superiority. Though it teetered on becoming a real war many times (i.e. Cuban Missle Crisis, Berlin Airlift), we were able to diplomatically prevent nuclear war.

Answer 9

Peace is not the absence of war. Without war or the threat of war peace is not possible.

Answer 10

Peace through victory!! You're right on!