Unthinkable
Most contemporary political speeches are forgettable utterances that, more than anything else, bore the daylights out of the listening public. There are however, some speeches that, rightly, scare the hell out of us.
On Feb. 9, 1946 Josef Stalin addressed the Communist Party Congress and warned that “uneven developments” within the capitalist world would soon set off “violent disturbances” and that the Soviet people must prepare themselves. Many historians cite this speech as the start of the Cold War.
On 30 September 30, 1942, Hitler referenced a supremacist prophecy in a speech titled “They Will Stop Laughing!!!” presaging increasing aggressiveness in an already extremely bellicose Germany.
On November 26, 1956, at a reception of western diplomats, Nikita Khrushchev started his speech saying that “we are Bolsheviks and, whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!”
Many of my generation assume, however, that such “saber rattling” is a thing of the past. Surely, modern leaders are more circumspect and nuanced than those louts of years gone by. Surely, international disagreements would best be solved in an atmosphere of enlightened civility and cooperation. Surely, contemporary leaders were beyond such scare tactics… Weren’t they?… Well, WEREN’T they?… Apparently not.
Earlier this week, China’s Hu Xijin, a Communist Party Spokesman, declared that “The PLA (People’s Liberation Army) has the right to forcibly dispel (Speaker of the House) Nancy Pelosi’s plane and the US fighter jets, including firing warning shots and making tactical movement of obstruction. If ineffective, then shoot them down.” What’s this??!!! A “modern” leader threatening to intentionally shoot down a civilian aircraft (and one that was carrying a high ranking official of the United States, no less)?!!!! Unthinkable!
And, along similar lines, in May, Russia overtly threatened Great Britain, Finland and Sweden with nuclear annihilation. Aleksey Zhuravlyov, the deputy chairman of the Kremlin’s defence committee, also claimed Finland could be destroyed in 10 seconds with the Satan-2 hypersonic missile and that Russia could crush the Baltic states ‘like peanuts.’ Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Russian space programme, published satellite pictures of London and Washington, including the coordinates with which they would aim their nuclear missiles. Simulated nuclear attacks on London were broadcast on national TV. Although much of these not so veiled threats were mouthed by functionaries, as noted in the Eurasian Times in May: “Russian President Putin himself had declared only a few weeks ago that his country’s hypersonic missiles could “breakthrough all current defenses” and that they would be ready to lay siege to the United Kingdom “by autumn.” Laying siege to London? A “modern” world leader threatening nuclear annihilation of a world Capitol? Unthinkable!
And, I’m sure that the astute student of international affairs is not unaware that all of the current saber rattling is taking place amidst weak leadership in Washington, London, Paris and Berlin. And, the fact that the world now has such weak leadership in these previous bastions of strength, security, liberty and freedom, might seem, to some, to be UNTHINKABLE.
Not only unthinkable but terrifying!