Category: Warfare

Introduction

Japan’s colonization of Southeast Asia between 1941 and 1945 had both positive and negative effects on the region. While under the Japanese occupation, Southeast Asia underwent major social and economic structural changes.

Research reveals that the transformation that marred the region was as a result of Japan’s unique focus on the challenges that was facing the region and the many social and economic challenges that emerged during the colonization period. Having taken place during the Second World War, Japan’s colonization of Southeast Asia shaped the Southeast Asia’s social, economic, and political experiences in a number of ways.

Positive changes of Southeast Asia

One of the major positive impacts of Japan’s colonization of the Southeast region relates to the fact that Japan helped to liberate Southeast Asia. Although its initial major purpose of the colony was to accrue a lot of economic and political gains from the region, Japan ended up being the “savior” during the Second World War period. Colonization process and the activities that dominated the region had serious effects to the region’s social and economic development.

Japan’s colonization played a crucial role in the definition and in-depth understanding of the concept of nationalism in Southeast Asia. During the Second World War period, Southeast Asia was much disintegrated. This was until Japan took charge of the region.

Colonization enhanced economic awareness and the leaders’ desire to formulate reliable and effective territorial boundaries that enforced the political existence of Southeast Asian countries such as Burma, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, and Cambodia.

By augmenting economic empowerment of the region, Japan managed to promote economic stability of the countries in which it operated in Southeast Asia. During its occupation of Southeast Asia between 1941 and 1945, Japan managed to advance economic and social structural changes in the region. This enabled the region to be economically stable.

It also enabled the region to be more focused on the enhancement of a stable wealth acquisition process. Socially, Japan’s colonization of Southeast Asia made its colony to be a much diversified region with social and cultural practices.

Indeed, Japan’s economic restructuring of Southeast Asian economic was successfully enforced by implementing strategic economic mechanisms that focused on streamlining the region’s economic development structures. The colonization process and the Second World War that ensued during the period proved to be a crucial break in the Southeast Asian historical continuum. People, nations, and organizations were liberated.

Thailand, Malaya, and the Philippines are some of the countries in Southeast Asia that enjoyed a lot of brilliance as Japan helped in the enlightenment of the people in these countries. This played a crucial role in encouraging economic development of the region as the enlightenment resulted in the availability of skilled labor.

As a colonizer of the Southeast Asian region, Japan’s economic performance was “miraculous” as it greatly improved the region’s economic growth and stability. To a greater extent, the tremendous economic improvement enforced by Japan is still the reason why Southeast Asia is more economically and socially stable in comparison to many western countries.

The colonization also changed the economic and social structure of Southeast Asia by positively enforcing the “attributes of modernization” that include modern transportation, information revolution, widespread and easy access to education, and the popularity of mass media.

Thanks to its economic endowment, Japan managed to resist the negative influence of the global superpowers that were very interested in colonizing southeast and inculcating their redundant economic policies and political ideals. Japan’s political power and economic wealth played a crucial role in furthering its colonial influence in Southeast Asia. Prior to colonization, the region was experiencing a high mortality rate.

A tremendous improvement was witnessed as Japan focused on improving the health and economic standards of all its colonies. Japan positively shaped Southeast Asia’s social and economic structure by focusing on constant improvement of the region’s social structure.

The Southeast Asia’s social structure mainly changed from the traditional Asian way of life to a “more western social structure” that highly cherishes high-end ways of life. Colonization process created new elites in Southeast Asia leading to the formation of a new social class that was more business oriented. This played a crucial role in the establishment of business enterprises and overall entrepreneurial attitude that encouraged more people to work and thus improve the economic performance of Southeast Asia.

As a change to the Southeast Asian social structure, Japan’s colonization liberalized the region and triggered restructuring of the region’s social order. Although the change resulted in a few negative social influences, the colonization played a crucial role in enforcing people’s respect for the rule of law and adherence to economically sound business operation mechanisms.

Japan’s colonization negatively impacted on the Southeast Asian social structure by contributing to the emergence of new social structures and an improved socioeconomic stratification. Prior to the colonization period, Southeast Asia had very weak social institutions that did not enhance economic growth. The colonial period contributed to the emergence of better social networks and the adoption of western ideals that promoted more productive interactions.

The new social structure that emerged due to Japan’s colonization influenced change in vital social and economic systems such as legal process, cultural system, social classes, economy, family, and political system among others. The improvement in Southeast Asian social systems made the region a much better place to stay.

The emergence of western connections and improvement of trade networks between Southeast Asia and Japan among other parts of the world opened up more business avenues in the Japanese region. The subsequent social changes witnessed during the 1941 and 1945 period enhanced Southeast Asian region due to improved social structures and the establishment of a stable economic structure. Due to the fact that Japan was having good economic, social, and political ties with the USA, colonization of Southeast Asia enabled the region to advance streamlined relations with the western countries.

Indeed, Japan’s colonization of Southeast Asia resulted in many changes in the economic and social structure of Southeast Asia is positively evident in the manner in which Japan developed very reliable export markets. As a positive change in the region, Japan’s colonization contributed to the relatively high status of women in society. The colonization process enlightened women on their social, economic, political, and cultural rights as well as their family and societal duties and responsibilities.

Negative Changes to Southeast Asia

Not all economic and social structural changes that Japan’s colonization contributed to the Southeast Asian region were right or ethical. Japan employed the divide and rule tactic in the region. This highly disintegrated the region making it more difficult for the countries in this region to implement democratic political systems. The changes did not fully favor the social structure of Southeast Asia as it had been purposed.

Both the first and the second Sino Japanese war and the Russo Japanese war were triggered by the failure by the Qing dynasty to bring up to date its military as regional dominance became a controversial issue in the region’s industrialization process.

Japan’s imperialist policy exposed the people in South Asia to many challenges. As the first major war in the twentieth century, imperialism ambitions highly influenced the Russo Japanese War. As was the case with the WWI, Russo Japanese War compelled many colonies to abandon their ambitious economic and expansionism strategies as many empires collapse thus causing a lot of economic strain. The wars enforced a paradigm shift among the japans forces hence the Japanese desire to unify the Asian Pacific region and foster economic and political stability.

The colonization process means that Japan would not condone any transformation strategies whose effects were not done in its favor. As a result, the region failed to fully exploit the economic benefits in line with its full potential.

The evidently biased development patterns in the Southeast Asian region could be an indicator of the fact that Japan did not fairly enhance its economic policies and operational strategies in the Southeast Asian region. This is the reason why economic progress has been slow in some Southeast Asian countries that include Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, and Laos.

The colonial period enslaved the region and failed to ensure that the region enjoyed economic, political, and social freedom that was highly desired at the time. Due to its political approach, Japan is fully responsible for the dominance of western imperialism in the Southeast Asia in which it failed to formulate reliable political engagement that would have had a total political transformation and establishment of very democratic institutions.

Japan’s failure to develop an effective social structure made it impossible for it to establish major impact on Southeast Asia’s political system. In fact, its weak political policies contributed to heightened social tension for a region that had enjoyed a relatively stable political system.

Colonization also contributed to the increased popularity of bilateral kinship systems, establishment of family ties, and increased popularity and acceptance of cultural pluralism. The fact that Japan heavily relied upon the United States of America for its security even as it colonized Southeast Asia implies that its political muscles were relatively weak. Japan’s colonization weakened what had been anticipated by many to be a strong political system in Southeast Asia. This was partly due to the fact that Japan has a “quasi hegemony” that highly contradicted the Western economic thinking approach.

By mainly focusing on the enhancement of economic development and not political well being of the region, Japan created a powerful economic powerhouse but with a weak political infrastructure. This made it very difficult for the region to sustain its economic growth long after Japan had stopped its colonial activities in the region.

Attack on the Pearl Harbor and Japan’s Mistakes

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise Japanese military attack on the U.S naval base in 1941. Having gone on the offensive, Japan’s attack of Pearl was a preventive mechanism that was focused on ensuring that the U.S. Pacific Fleet did not interfere with the intended military actions in Southeast Asia.

The military actions that Japanese were planning were aimed at clearing the overseas military territories of the U.S., Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The attack was also aimed at destroying vital U.S fleet units thus ensuring that the Japanese quest of Malaya and the wider Dutch East was not interfered with.

The attack was not only intended to kill American morale to extend its military operations to the Dutch East Indie and the “western pacific ocean” but also a smart war strategy that was intended to “buy time” for Japan as it increased its naval strength in readiness for the great shipbuilding task.

Since Japan’s advancement into the Dutch East Indies and Malaya would not have had a profound impact in its quest to establish an economic and political powerhouse in Southeast Asia, the attack was a major selfish approach that did not take into account the level of preparedness of the Japanese army to enter into a large scale war with the United States of America.

The attack provoked the U.S to join the Second World War. The attack was also intended to ensure that China was isolated from major trade and economic partners so as Japan could achieve sufficient resource independence and thus attain war victory in the mainland. Japan’s colonization of Southeast Asia made its colony to be a much diversified region with social and cultural practices.

Japan made a major political blunder by believing that its economic strategies would automatically translate to a strong political influence in the region. This led to Japan having a weak social and political influence due to the much needed economic stability that was highly needed and economic political relationship and influence in Southeast Asia and in other parts of the world.

Japan failed to do proper planning in its quest for total economic security. It also failed to streamline its global business strategies and to enforce innovative business operations. Having been at war with China, Germany, and Poland since September 1, 1939, Japan found itself in many controversial situations due to its lack of focus on a single goal.

Another social and economic mistake committed by Japan was its attack on the Pearl Harbor. This was a major social, economic, and political gaffe. The Japanese failed to critically assess the impact that their attack on the Pearl Harbor would have on their stability and their overall quest for the establishment of a Southeast Asian political, economic, and social empire.

The dispute is partly responsible for the social and economic stagnation of some Southeast Asian countries due to the destruction of infrastructure and lack of reliable means of operation in the region. To a greater extent, the colonization process triggered hatred and uneven development patterns both of which were never warranted.

Conclusion

Having been a major base for the Second World War, Southeast Asia was highly humiliated. Crony capitalism caused many deaths and economic underdevelopment in the region. Japan had a profound impact on the entire Southeast Asian region.

Japan maintained a very distinctive political and economic system and influence on Southeast Asia. Indeed, having taken place during the Second World War, Japan’s colonization of Southeast Asia shaped the Southeast Asia’s social, economic, and political experiences in a number of ways. The colonization of Southeast Asia led to the existence of tremendous positive changes to both the economic and social structures of the Southeast Asia.

The above analysis reveals that the Japanese left Southeast Asian economic and social structures in a much better condition than they had found it. Prior to the WWII, Japan had never lost any war. Both the war and the colonization process did not make it easy for the Southeast Asians who had endlessly fought for democracy and deliberation of their country. The WWII greatly weakened Japan’s capability to hold on to its colonies.

This is also partly due to the fact that world communism was quickly spreading in the region. In the long run, the colonization process also helped to liberalize and empower women in society. Having led to the collapse of many European empires, colonization, the Russo Japanese War, and the Sino Japanese war liberated people and enhanced the emergence and use of new technologies in various sectors of the economy thus boosting the Southeast Asian rate of economic development.

Bibliography

Barnhart, Michael. Japan prepares for total war: the search for economic security, 1919–1941. New York: Cornell University Press, 1987.

Edwards, Penny. Cambodge: The Cultivation of a Nation, 1860-1945. Southeast Asia: Politics, Meaning, and Memory. Pearl City: University of Hawaii, 2008.

Embong, Abdul. Southeast Asian Middle Classes: Prospects for Social Change and Democratization. Malaysia: University Kebangsaan Press, 2001.

Stephen, Martin and Grove, Eric, Sea Battles in Close-up: World War 2, Volume 1. Middlesex: Shepperton Publishers, 1988.

Tarling, Nicholas, A sudden Rampage. Hawaii: University of Hawaii press, 2001.

Introduction

The second battle of Fallujah was “code named” Operation Phantom Fury or Operation Al-Fjr. This war involved American, British and Iraqi states in November and December, 2004 in Fallujah, Iraq. The war of Fallujah was reported to have been the worst in the history of the US due to the nature of armory used, loss of human lives and destruction of physical infrastructure.

The battle of Fallujah was fought solely against insurgents and militia rather than the forces of Sadam’s regime. This war’s aim was to put an end to the control of the city of Fallujah by enemy insurgents and also to capture the leader of insurgents, Abu Musab Al- Zarqawi (Ross n.d)ⁱ.

The unified army realized success in the battle field due to the wise and skilled leadership of Richard Natonski who was head of the United States Marine Corps. LTG Richard Natonski was a retired veteran who specialized in war tactics especially those used in the Middle East by Arab militia and insurgents.

His expertise and knowledge provided the techniques necessary for the winning of the bloody second war of Fallujah. His techniques in war enable him to gather intelligence information of what the enemies were planning to do including the nature of their preparations.

The first battle of Fallujah had been waged in April, 2004 to eliminate the insurgent elements that had killed the Black Water Security team and also reclaim Fallujah from the control of enemy combatants. The state of Iraq wanted the city of Fallujah to be controlled by the citizens of Iraq. The war ended but the civilians of Iraq were not successful in keeping the insurgents away.

By September, the number of insurgents had grown to five thousand and the city was once put under militia control. (Karon n.d)ⁱⁱ.The combat tactics used in the first war were successful but they did not ensure the control of the city. The decisions made during the first war of Fallujah made the city even more vulnerable to insurgents and within a short period, insurgents had secured the city again.

The decisive tactical decisions made by LTG Natonski ensured that the insurgents were permanently eliminated and the city was recaptured and maintained by the coalition forces.

Thesis statement

A significant correlation exists between effective and efficient war strategies and positive outcomes which include winning a war as evidenced by the techniques employed General Natonski in the war of Fallujah.

Analysis of lieutenant General Natonski’s performance in the winning of The Second War of Fallujah

LTG Richard Natonski had served in the military since 1973. He was appointed as an observer in the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East. He served as a commander of the Marine Expedition Unit in Kuwait. He was the commander of the 2^nd Marine Expedition Brigade in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and fought in the Battle of Nasiriyah in 2003.

These deployments into the Middle East gave him a clear interpretation of the combat tactics employed by Arab insurgents. This fact made him learn their strengths and weaknesses and how to take advantage of the enemies’ weaknesses. Natonski had also learnt new combat tactics that he could use in war to conquer and out do the techniques employed by the insurgents (Ross n.d)ⁱⁱⁱ . LTG Natonski used a combat diversion tactic that distracted the insurgents from a coordinated attack.

One of the battalion troops, Regimental Combat Teams (RCT) 1 had settled in the North of the city of Fallujah and this gave the enemy combatants and jihadist fighters an impression that the coalition forces were planning an imminent attack from the South. The other troops surrounded the city with the assistance of the Black Watch Battalion.

The rest of the battalions attacked the city of Fallujah from the West and North where they captured and secured the villages along the River Euphrates and also the Jurf Kas Sukr Bridge. This distraction combat technique was commanded by the LTG Nantonski. He knew that the insurgents had fully prepared for the battle from the North therefore exposing their other points of vulnerability.

His intelligence was supported by use of overhead imagery and unmanned aerial vehicles that showed the training activities of the insurgents using live ammunitions and also the layout of their offensive and attack strategies. The LTG ordered the establishment of checkpoints to and from the city. This fact ensured that the insurgents would not flee but allowed the civilians to move out of the battle ground.

The leaders of the insurgent militia including Abu Musab Al- Zarqawi managed to escape even before the battle started. This fact however ensured that many of the insurgents would remain in the city of Fallujah. Males who had attained the “military age” who moved among the civilians as they evacuated were turned back. This aspect was executed to ensure that the insurgents would not escape.

The LTG’s mission was to deal with the insurgents so that in future, there would be no more insurgency in the area. This fact made it impossible for the militants to flee Fallujah ( Rick n.d)^iv. The insurgents had grown in number and included foreign mujahedeen fighters who were Filipino, Chechen, Saudi, Iranian, Syrian, Libyan and the native Iraqis. They had sophisticated weapons like IEDs, booby traps and advanced small arms.

They learnt the combat tactics of the US military of securing roof tops and therefore, they built stairs made of bricks leading to the roofs and created paths into the kill zones. They had jersey barriers and dug trenches and tunnels as defensive techniques.

All the strategies of the insurgents were however countered by the coalitions’ 13500 troops. The troops were better equipped and were accompanied by heavy cavalry; artillery, air, support, and armored battalions which had tanks and other light armored battle vehicles.

The number of the troops was overwhelming to the insurgents and this number made it possible for the forces to surround the city and attack it from different directions (Rick n.d)^v. The LTG also commanded air strikes and intense artillery barges as the first action during the first night of the battle.

These strikes reorganized, confused and spoiled the battle strategies of the insurgents but gave the Six Army, marine and Iraqi battalion protection as they invaded and attacked the city. The coalition had a platoon that provided reconnaissance and oversaw the operations to the end.

This battle tactic made attacks by the coalition forces easier and the subsequent strategies by other military battalions ensured that the insurgents were totally subdued (Bellavia n.d)^vi.

The US military was known for the tactics of seizing the roof tops of high buildings so that it could gain a better view of their enemies (Schaepdrijver 2013, 13). This tactic was however not employed by the military although the enemy combatants had prepared for it and sealed all the stairwells by using bricks. This unpredictable tactic got the insurgents unaware and their preparations were derailed.

The coalition’s military arm later conducted a search in the city where they found hidden armory. They came across training sites that had literature and layouts of their combat operations, tactics and ambush sites.

By securing these cache sites, the insurgents were cut off from the supply of weapons and ammunition (Lowry 2010, 27). The literature made the insurgents’ attacks, combat techniques and tactics more predictable and this gave the coalition forces time to prepare for their counter offensive. The battalions also attacked the main train station in the city of Fallujah. The train was used as a check point for enemies.

Many of the foreign insurgents entered the city through the train stations and therefore, attacking the train stations would ensure that there would be no more reinforcements of the enemy combatants in the city and also the trapped insurgents would not also flee (Camp n.d)^vii.

The participation of the Iraqi forces and the improvement of the coalition forces by local Iraqi interpreters made it easier to identify locations of insurgent strongholds (Ricks 2007, 9). The Iraqi forces knew the terrain well and had knowledge of the strongholds of the insurgents and their fighting techniques and capabilities.

The use of locals in the war made it easier since they provided information on the strengths and weak points of the insurgents. This fact gave the coalition forces an opportunity to develop a unique offensive tactic that would counter the enemy combatants and be successful.

This aspect gave them a lot of insight and interpretation of the moves of the enemy combatants (Lowry n.d)^viii . Certain civilians reported that the coalition forces used unusual weapons during the war. War analysts claimed that the coalition forces used white phosphorus and MK-77 bombs that were similar to napalm (Hopkins 2009, 15). These incendiary weapons proved to be versatile and destructive to the humanity and environment.

They served as potent psychological weapons that had harmful effects on the insurgents and were used to “flush them out” of their hideouts that included bunks, trenches and spider traps. This tactic of using unusual weapons actually put fear in the enemy combatants making it easier to capture them (Camp n.d)^ix. All these decisive tactics employed by Nantonski led to the recapture of Fallujah.

This aspect was necessitated by good leadership shown through the various ranks of the coalition forces. These commands came from LTG Richard Natonski.

Outcome of the Second Battle of Fallujah

The intensity of the fighting ended after nine days of battle which was the 13^th of November. The coalition forces lost over a hundred soldiers and more than six hundred others survived but sustained gun wounds.

The estimation of the enemy combatants killed varied since there was no accurate number of the total insurgents during the beginning of the war. Estimates showed that more than 1400 insurgents were killed and about 1300 of them were taken captive.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also estimated that about 800 civilians were also killed in the process. The operation also displaced about 200,000 civilians who went to live elsewhere in Iraq (Ricks n.d)^x.

The Second Battle of Fallujah however proved to be less challenging than the kind of engagement that the coalition forces had been expecting. Most of the foreign combatants, mujahedeen fighters and jihad foreign fighters were believed to have fled the city of Fallujah before the commencement of the military assault along with the leaders of the militias leaving only the native Iraqi fighters behind.

The mission’s objective was to kill or capture all enemy combatants so that future insurgency would not occur again. The insurgency included foreign fighters who ultimately fled and the local fighters were the ones who were killed and captured. The tactic of establishing checkpoints to ensure that the militants were trapped in the city was therefore not as effective as expected (Camp n.d)^xi.

Given that the war of Fallujah was considered as the most deadly and bloodiest combat in history, the number of deaths from both parties was expected to be higher than other battles ever fought. This aspect was however not experienced in the case of this battle.

The coalition forces experienced a very small number of deaths than expected and this was possible due to the use of decisive tactics used in the offensive combat (Ricks n.d)^xii. The mission command ensured minimum causalities from the coalitions’ forces but maximum destruction of the enemy combatants (Connolly 2013, 23).

This fact however also led to destruction of infrastructure, loss of basic amenities like power and water and also civilians’ lives were lost.

Conclusion

Tactical combat by use of modern combat technologies both at sea, land and air and also the use of counter measures like traps and other explosives usually served to limit the extent of force projection and aggression. The success of a battle or war was measured by the attainment of the battle’s objectives and sustainability of the intended goal (Bellavia 2008, 12).

The significance of this analysis was to conceptualize tactical decisions and strategies that were employed in winning this war and the fact that the strategies can also be applied elsewhere if a similar situation may occur in future.

The role played by LTG Richard Natonski in commanding the coalition battalions was vital because his knowledge of combat tactics and that of the insurgents in the Middle East made it easier for him to come up with tactics that could work to his advantage.

In reality, the combat techniques used during the war by the coalition forces gave them an advantage over the insurgents. The war tactics that Nantonski used served to avert the loss of many lives of civilians and the military.

The strategies helped in ending the war in a fast way because they were effective and efficient. The extent of the war did not cause a lot of damage to the infrastructure thanks to Nantonski’s familiarity with war techniques. The evaluation of the war of Fallujah shows that tactical advantage is better than deployment of massive military force.

Bibliography

Bellavia, David. House to House: A Tale of Modern War. New York City, USA: Pocket Books, 2008. Web.

Connolly, James. “Mauvaise Conduite: Complicity and compatibility in the occupied Nord, 1914-1918.”Journal of War Studies 4, no.1 (2013). Web.

Hopkins, Burke. An Introduction to Criminological Theory (3rd ed), Gloucester, UK: Willan Publishing, 2009. Web.

Lowry, Richard. New Dawn: The Battles for Fallujah. California, USA: Savas Beatie 2010. Web.

Ricks, Thomas. Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq. Westminster, UK: Penguin, 2007. Web.

Schaepdrijver, Sophie. “Military occupation, political imaginations, and the First World War.” Journal of World War Studies 4, no.1 (2013). Web.

Footnotes

1. Ross Brian (@brianross) (24 September 2004). “Tracking Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi”. ABC News. Web.
2. Karon, Tony (8 November 2004). “The Grim Calculation of Retaking Fallujah”. Time.
3. Ross i.
4. Ricks, Thomas E. (2007). Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2003–2005. Penguin. (2007). pp. 343–346. Web.
5. Refer to iv
6. Bellavia, David House to House: A Tale of Modern War. Pocket Books (2008). p. 336. Web.
7. Dick Camp Operation Phantom Fury: The Assault and Capture of Fallujah, Iraq, (2009). Web.
8. Lowry, Richard S. New Dawn: The Battles for Fallujah. Savas Beatie (2010). p. 20. Web.
9. Refer to Dick Camp.
10. Refer to Dick Camp.
11. Refer to Dick Camp.
12. Refer to Rick Thomas.

Introduction

Terrorism attacks involving the use of violent means in the contemporary society have been on the rise, which has resulted to the loss of many innocent lives. In the past, terrorist groups like al-Qaeda have carried out terrorist attacks in countries like the United States and Kenya among other countries.

These attacks include the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Kenya and disastrous terrorism attack in the US, which targeted the World Trade Centre and the pentagon in the year 2001. These attacks were targeted on buildings that housed many citizens of the respective countries.

The main aim of targeting these buildings was to kill thousands of people in a bid to create fear and warn the countries that the terrorist groups were determined to reach their political and religious goals by whatever means possible. This assertion explains why it is very important for any building in urban areas to be prevented from any potential terrorist attacks, as terrorist organizations with ill motive will continue to terrorize innocent people in the quest to advance their agenda.

In order to avoid a recurrence of the terrorist attacks that happened in 1998 at the American embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, and other threats across the world, there is a need for risk assessment to be carried out on the facility. Risk assessment to this facility is crucial, as it will aid in making important decisions on areas that need improvement. Certain steps must be followed to ensure that the building is safe.

Threat identification and rating

Threat identification is the first step in the risk assessment of the US embassy building in the capital city of Kenya. Apart from terrorism attacks, it is important to note that the building can be affected by other equally catastrophic threats as natural events like earthquakes and tornados or accidents like a fire.

Hence, the management of the facility carries the responsibility identifying any possible threat to the facility as it helps in safeguarding people in the building. As the threats that may affect the building are different, there is a need to gather sufficient information on each one of them. Natural disaster threats can be identified by researching on historical data that is available on the national libraries, archives, and even on the Internet (Kunreuther, 2002).

With the information gathered on the frequency of natural disasters that have happened near where the building is situated, it is possible to determine the probability of natural disasters being of any threat to the building. If in the research it is clear that in the past there have been frequent massive earthquakes near the building, then earthquakes threat can be rated high and preventive measures put in place to avoid the effects that it can have on the building.

The possibility of the building being targeted by terrorist organizations also should be identified. It is possible for terrorists to attack the building based on its location. If the building is located in a place where there is less surveillance by security forces, attack by terrorist can be successful. This assertion can be proven by the terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda on the building in the year 1998, which was successful as there was inadequate security and the terrorists even carried the bomb to the facility using a lorry without being detected.

The bomb caused massive damage to the building and many innocent people lost their lives. In most cases, the aim of any terrorist organization is to cause as much damage as possible. Hence, the building can be targeted by terrorist based on its size and the number of people that it houses. Therefore, if the building is big in size and there is inadequate security surveillance, then the likelihood of it being attacked by extremist organizations is very high.

Apart from terrorist attacks, threats by criminals and the kind of weapons that they can use to commit any criminal activity that is against the law should be identified. Information should be gathered on the crime rates in the areas surrounding the facility.

This kind information can be collected from the available security agencies. If the findings show that the crime rates are high, and in the past some of the buildings surrounding the US embassy in Nairobi have been attacked and people held hostage by criminal gangs, then the possibility of the facility being attacked by the gangs is still high.

Asset value assessment

After identifying any kind of threats that may affect the normal functioning of the building, then the second step, which is asset value assessment, should be carried out. This step is equally important as the first one since it involves gathering information to estimate the value of the assets that are in the building.

Being an embassy of the United States of America, the building contains documents and equipments that are of high value and they need to be safeguarded incase a disaster strikes the building. In addition, the building houses many people who work in it and others who frequent it in search of certain services.

Human life cannot be compared to the value of vital documents and expensive equipments; therefore, they are the most important assets that need to be safeguarded even though they do not hold a tangible value that can be measured in monetary terms. Keeping in mind that people are the most important assets and without them it is impossible for normal activities to be carried out in the building, then measures can be taken early enough to prevent the loss of lives in case of a manmade or natural disaster.

Escape routes can be created in the building for people to use and they should be designed in a way that will provide enough space for any rescue attempt by any concerned department to be carried out successfully. Fire extinguishers can also be strategically placed near places where people can easily reach them and put out fire.

The identification of the most crucial documents and electrical points should not be ignored, as they are useful to the facility. They should be identified and stored in hardened structures like safes, which can survive a bomb hit or fire accidents. Once the most important assets are identified and safeguarded, then the normal daily activities of the facility can still go on after a disaster, even it is in another building as the embassy is being repaired.

Vulnerability assessment

Vulnerability assessment aims at considering loss that can be incurred in case of a disaster and the vulnerability of the building to an attack. If terrorists are targeting the building, then there are some weak points that can be exploited by the perpetrators to ensure that their mission is successful. Being vulnerable means that the existing defense mechanisms to avoid a catastrophe in case of manmade or natural disasters are ineffective, and thus the building is a possible target for such an attack.

As an embassy of the United States, the facility can be described as a very high profile attractive target for terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, which is a sworn enemy of the United States. An attack to this facility would completely jeopardize the normal functions of the embassy. This aspect explains why this third step is important, as the results will help in the formation of mitigation measures to avoid a disaster.

Although the building is vulnerable to terrorism attacks, an in-depth analysis of the building maintenance, design, and its year of construction play a critical role in determining its vulnerability when faced by hazardous natural disasters (Stewart & Melchers, 2004). With this knowledge, it can be determined whether this building will be destroyed together with its critical assets.

In addition, it can determine if it will be temporary destroyed and only a few of its assets will be destroyed and it can be operational after a few weeks or days. The vulnerability assessment process is crucial as it will involve detailed analysis of the building, and thus there is a need to ensure that only very qualified, experienced, and skilled staff is selected.

However, before carrying out the vulnerability assessment, the assessment team can carry out some research and find out about other facilities that were affected by manmade or natural disaster and what made them to be more vulnerable. With this information, they can compare the vulnerabilities that they find in their facility and come up with effective mitigation measures.

The assessment team can also explore the fact that the building can also be vulnerable to terrorism attacks by chemicals weapons and asses the loss that can be brought by such an attack before coming up with possible ways to avoid the same. Apart from this risk, the vulnerability of the building to seismic activity caused by an earthquake with high magnitude by geo-statistical analysis should be explored.

This assertion explains why some of the people carrying out the assessment should have the required skills and knowledge in geo-information techniques if a detailed seismic vulnerability report of the building is to be produced at the end of the vulnerability assessment. With an experienced team carrying out the vulnerability assessment, the most vulnerable areas of the building will be identified and upgrading done with the major aim of protecting the valuable assets that it houses.

Risk assessment

Risk assessment is a systematic process that seeks to identify and evaluate any possible risk that could prevent the facility from reaching its goals (Kunreuther, 2002). This important step involves the combination and evaluation of threat, asset, and vulnerability assessment. This information is useful in establishing if there is any potential threat to the building and help in protecting the assets of the building.

As the potential threats and the vulnerability of different assets have already been identified, the risk assessment is useful in determining the impact of loss that different assets are likely to incur in case of a certain threat. For example, if there is a terrorist threat, the loss of lives will be very high. Therefore, based on the level of threat to any asset in the building, countermeasures should be put in place to safeguard the same.

Mitigation measures

After the risk assessment step, there is the last step, which is aimed at providing solutions to reduce or eliminate the damage that can be caused by any disaster. Mitigation measures include the upgrading of the building by installing blast resistant glazing and strengthened perimeter columns and walls to increase its stability (Cretu, Stewart & Berends, 2011).

Though this move is expensive, it is worthy as at will help in avoiding death and loss of property in case of a terrorist attack. In addition, there is a need to upgrade the security surveillance to prevent a recurrence of the 1998 bombing and to deter any criminal activity from happening in the facility. Vehicles entering the premises should be inspected thoroughly to ensure that none of them is carrying any explosive materials that can cause any harm to the people.

Conclusion

As stated earlier, people are the most important assets in any building and appropriate measures should be taken to ensure that they are secure. In cases where disasters can result to casualties, the involved parties should note the same and come up with emergency strategies to counter the same should it happen.

This move will be useful for people working in the building will continue with their productive lives until they retire instead of suffering from injuries and being forced to retire at an early age. In addition, normal operations and the reputation of the building will not be affected.

Reference List

Cretu, O., Stewart, R., & Berends, T. (2011). Risk Management for Design and

Construction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Kunreuther, H. (2002). Risk analysis and risk management in an uncertain world. Risk Analysis, 22(4), 655-664.

Stewart, M., & Melchers, R. (2004). Probabilistic risk assessment of engineering systems (Systems effectiveness). London, UK: Chapman & Hall.

Introduction

The attack of Kuwait by Iraq can also be referred to as “the Iraq –Kuwait War”. This was a serious war that involved Iraq and its neighbor Kuwait, which eventually culminated to a long stalemate of approximately seven to eight months. During the period of conflict, Kuwait was controlled by Iraq.

This conflict drew international concern and the USA government got involved by sending its military to go fight against Iraq. Iraq alleged in 1990 that Kuwait was secretly tapping its oil deposits through a process known as slant drilling. Apart from this, some sources from Iraq revealed that Saddam Hussein had planned to invade Kuwait far much earlier before the real attack. Many people felt that there were so many underlying factors that could have led to Iraq’s attack on Kuwait.

Causes of the Conflict between Kuwait and Iraq

Accumulated War Debts

Before the “Iraq-Iran war”, Kuwait had a mutual relationship with Iraq and Kuwait even served as the main port of Iraq because Basra had been interfered with during the war. However, the cordial relationship between them turned sour soon after the war. This is because Iraq could not manage to settle the debt it had acquired from Kuwait during the war.

This was because its economy was extremely strained by the war expenses. These financial disagreements caused a greet tension between the two countries. Towards the end of 1989, they tried to solve the issue amicably through a series of meetings that were chaired by leaders from the two countries. However, they could not reach a consensus and this further worsened their relationship.

Economic Warfare

Economic problems in Iraq also contributed to the war. After the conflict between Iran and Iraq, Saddam came up with some dubious means to reconstruct the economy of his country, which by now had seriously been ruined. In this case he wanted to raise money for his debts by simply creating unnecessary shortage of oil.

This could consequently lead to high international cost of oil. Kuwait sabotaged his move by simply boosting its oil production capacity and this led to a significant fall in the oil prices internationally. These further destabilized the economy of Iraq which was already in bad shape. The government of Iraq so this as an “economic conflict” and there was also the question of the hotly contested oil field called Rumaila.

Slant drilling

During Iraq-Iran war, it was noticed that there was a significant drop in oil produced in Iraq’s fields while that of Kuwait drastically increased. Iraq complained that Kuwait was tapping its oil without its consent and they ordered Kuwait to compensate them, but Iraq did not accept those allegations.

Hegemonic claims by Iraq on Kuwait

Iraq also envied the vast oil fields that were managed by Kuwait. They claimed that Kuwait was originally part of Iraq before the advent of European imperialism in the region of Middle East which had led to its division. They therefore claimed superiority over Kuwait. There was also a growing suspicion by Iraq that Kuwait was forging close ties with the West (USA) with a sinister motive of weakening its economy.

The course of the war

At this level there was a high tension and on the second of August the year 1990, the first raid was made on Kuwait’s capital city by Iraq. This marked the real onset of the popularly called the “Gulf War’’ of 1990. Within the first few days of the war, the Iraqi troops managed to annex a large portion of the Kuwait capital. They used very sophisticated machines like fighter jets and tankers and within a short period of time they managed to bring Kuwait under their control.

After winning the war, Saddam Hussein stripped off the reigning Emir from power and substituted him immediately with another. The royal family fled into the desert for security and they stayed a way for several months. While in exile, the royal family pleaded with the international community to dislodge Iraq from its occupation of Kuwait.

The international community seriously condemned what Saddam had done and they ordered him to quit Kuwait. At this time the USA government was increasingly becoming weary of the possible Iraq conquest on Saudi Arabia. The UN gave Iraq a notice to withdraw its troops but it failed to do so. It is in this context that the international community mobilized military and financial resources to attack Iraq.

The US government managed to remove the Iraq troops from Kuwait after fighting them tirelessly. The US government had several motives for its engagement in the war. It made the following arguments. According to US, Iraq had undermined the territorial sovereignty of Kuwait which was really unlawful. Secondly, US wanted to defend Saudi Arabia which was of great strategic importance in the region.

This is because US depended on its oil exports which they did not want to lose. Iraq had also for a very longtime been violating the rights of citizens in the neighboring countries. The troops from Iraq were also engaged in several malicious activities during their occupation of Kuwait. For example they raided private properties of individuals and stole their valuables. They conducted careless torture and execution of the civilians in Kuwait.

Effects of the war

The outcome of the war had far reaching effects on the people of Kuwait. For example very many Kuwait citizens ran away due to the effects of the war.

In the process of moving to other places, they left behind their investments and properties which were ravaged by the war and some were looted. Several citizens were seriously wounded during the air attacks. By the end of the war several people had died and they were well over two thousand in number. Families that lost property and loved ones during the war endured much pain, and they suffered seriously from poverty.

Some of them up to day have never had the chance to restore their previous status. The government was also seriously disorganized and it took a lot of time before they could reorganize themselves. For instance the capital city was so much interfered with and several installations were damaged. This left the government with a huge financial burden to repair its ruined economy and infrastructure. The war also affected the foreign policy of Iraq. The economy of Iraq was also further strained by this war.

Conclusion

The analysis of the Gulf War is today very much important in our history and it has always been used as appoint of reference when discussing the crisis in the Middle East. The current state of anarchy witnessed in Iraq and other neighboring Arab countries like Afghanistan are all examples of the long term stalemates which have never been solved.

The situation in Iraq at present is very bad and they have registered one of highest poverty indexes in the world. The government is also very unstable and it is always on the verge of bankruptcy. Suicide bombings have become part of life of the citizens. This is enough to explain the level of disillusionment in Iraq.

Several Arab countries are also becoming less stable. At present Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan and Yemen are all undergoing serious revolutions. These are enough indicators that democracy is still along term dream for most of the Arab countries. Despite the rich oil resources in many Arab countries they are likely to remain underdeveloped due to war. It is high time they changed their attitude toward war.

Introduction

The battle of Bosworth was a battle fought in the year 1485 during the month of august in England. According to Knight (206), the battle of Bosworth was fought at the market of Bosworth, a large flat plain field between the towns of Shenton, Sutton Dadlington, and Stoke.

King Henry Tudor marched forward with his fighting force from the Haven of Milford in the region of Wales where he sought to fight the battle with two thousand soldiers.

The Battle of Bosworth rose to become one of the major Battles in the history of England, which marked the beginning of the reign of Henry VII after the downfall of the reign of Richard III. Indeed, the reign of Henry VII marked the reign the most famous monarchs that lasted for significantly a long time in England.

Bosworth Battle History

The beginning of the battle was stimulated by Henry Tudor’s use of money he received from Charles III from France to launch his battle against Richard III. Funding from Charles VIII was as a result of his hope that an English battle would come in handy in distracting focus from his plans to capture Brittany.

Henry Tudor sailed to Milford Haven from Harfleur at a period when he had approximately five hundred followers, who were loyal to his rule with an addition of approximately one thousand five hundred soldiers from France. Henry’s next destination was the Cambrian Mountains through the Cardigan coast, a journey that was meant to position his battalion, ready for the battle.

During this period, Henry Tudor gained a lot of support from the Rhys Thomas, the most influential landowner from the South Wales. Henry also sought more support from England by turning to Sir William Stanley, his brother, and Lord Stanley, his step father who supported him financially, although secretly. Moreover, he received a reinforcement of five hundred men from Gilbert Thomas (Hutton 10-90).

When Henry was gathering support, Richard III did not make any preparations prior to the battle, since he made assumptions that the battle would not materialize. Richard III had assumed that the landowners in England would not allow such invasions though he later realized that the battle was coming up and sought to march his forces towards the battlefield at Leicester.

The two troops matched towards each other and locked horns at Bosworth market field in Leicestershire. By the time the two sides met at Bosworth market, Henry had managed to gather a fighting force of approximately five thousand men, while Richard III had approximately twelve thousand men, though some were unreliable.

The unreliable part of Richard’s army significantly weakened his power to fight, and thus gave Henry high expectations towards the battle, considering that Henry had gathered enough and able soldiers in his native Wales. Despite this, Richard fought courageously and with vigor; however, he not only lost the battle, but also his life (Myers 34).

The battle began even though the principle subjects of Richard who doubted his victory over the battle did not support him through the fight. The unreliable forces were those of Lord Stanley, who stayed away from the battle and left the forces of Richard III to battle it out alone with Henry’s strong force. During the fight, Richard army was at the crest of the Ambien Hill while Henry’s army was at the bottom where land was marshier.

Henry’s army charged up the Ambien hill to fight Richards’s with strength of the long bow soldiers recruited from Wales, though they sustained serious casualties.

The longbow soldiers recruited by Henry from Wales contributed hugely to the victory, as they inflicted deep wounds on Richards’s army, despite the latter having the advantage of fighting from uphill. The battle generally resulted to heavy casualties from both Richard’s and Henry’s army.

Lord Stanley’s forces generally weakened Richards’s army, which was propagated by Henry’s move to influence and convince Stanley to rally his army against Richard’s army. Richard III worsened the situation by targeting to kill Henry himself, rather than concentrating on fighting Henry’s forces.

Richard targeted Henry with the support of a few of his trusted soldiers, where he nearly achieved his target of getting to Henry, were it not for Henry’s bodyguards.

During the actual fight, the forces of Lord Stanley did not participate in the fight; however, they stood aside watching the battle. Henry came out victorious in the battle, owing his success to Lord Stanley’s support at a critical moment of the battle. Upon the killing of Richard III, his soldiers surrendered the fight and fled away from the battle, leaving Sir Henry victorious.

However, Richard’s death came out as a vigilant death, which was the main feature in the battle of Bosworth, where Richard fought resolutely in the thickest of the war (Richmond 1). Lord Stanley took up Richard’s crown and declared Henry the King. Henry’s victory at the Bosworth battle marked the beginning of the Tudors reign, with the unity of Lancaster and York being indicated by his marriage to Elizabeth of the York.

Henry presented his victory of the battle of Bosworth by hiring the Chronicles to mark the country’s new beginning at the modern age. The modern day era in the new country was promoted by Tudor’s reign, which operated for consecutive periods with subsequent administrations.

Henry’s administration promoted the beginning of an era that marked the end of civil war depicted by Henry victory in the battle of Bosworth Field. Moreover, Henry’s Portrait has been held as a sign for the uprising of the modern day reign.

Henry victory from the Battle of Bosworth is generally significant to England’s History of Middle Ages. The uprising of Henry’s reign portrays Richard as a tyrant who wielded power by killing people who held varying opinions to his rule. Henry’s victory from the battle of Bosworth was received as royal entry by the people of England.

He considered his victory as an achievement of liberty by all people, as he rode through the city to the cathedral church of ST. Paul (Withington157). The battle of Bosworth has been attached to myths that depict the struggle for power between the evil and the good. Lord Stanley has been widely recognized as a huge contributor of the modern day England through his determination not to join the fight until the critical moment of victory.

Conclusion

Although the outcome of the battle of Bosworth was claimed to be generally meant for change of reign, Henry’s victory can be tied to issues of loyalty. History in England has it that more to the myth of Richards rule being evil, there are substantial beliefs that Richard’s death and loss of the battle of Bosworth is attached to lack of loyalty and morale among his army.

The loss bases its claims on the fact that most of the soldiers found it difficult to trust Richard during the battle and even after his victory, thus opting to dethrone the reign of Richard.

Works Cited

Hutton, William. The Battle of Bosworth Field: Between Richard the Third and Henry Earl of Richmond, August 22, 1485… with plans of the battle, its consequences, the fall, treatment, and character of Richard. To which is prefixed… a history of his life till he assumed the regal power. London: Nichols, Son, and Bentley, 1813.

Knight, Charles. The Popular History of England: an illustrated history of society and government from the earliest period to our own times. Volume 2. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1857.

Myers, A. R. English Historical documents: 1327-1485. Volume 4. NY: Routledge, 1996.

Richmond, Colin. “The Battle of Bosworth.” History Today 35.8 (1985); 17. Web.

Withington, Robert. The English pageantry. A historical Outline. Volume 2. NY: Ayer Publishing, 1980.

Chechens are the ethnic minority subordinated to Russia for the last two hundred years. After the fall of the Soviet Union, a movement for independence was launched by the Chechen separatists who aimed to gain independence for their country. As a result, two wars between Chechens and Russia were started and many acts of terrorism were committed in the territory of Russia.

The two countries are involved into the movement: Chechen Republic and Russia. Though, it is considered that there is a single separatist movement, there is a number of separatists groups formed by local and outside militants, these are “a loosely organized group with semi-independent commanders” (Bhattacharji n. p.).

The movement is spread all over the country. However, separate organizations are located in Dagestan and in the North Caucasus regions of the country. Many minor organizations are located in the adjoining sections in the Caucasus like Kabardino-Balkaria (Bhattacharji n. p.). Permanent rebels and terrorist attacks occur North Ossetia and Ingushetia.

1990s – The formation of the Russian Federation Republic of Chechnya and beginning of the independence movement.

1994 – 1996 – First Chechen War and winning of the de-facto independence from Russia.

1999 – Chechen militants invaded the Republic of Dagestan in order to help local separatists.

2000 – Russian army stated its control in the Chechen capital, Grozny and established the Russian control over Chechnya.

October 2002 – The terrorist attack the theater in Moscow demanding to call off the Russian troops from the Chechnya.

2006 – The death of the separatist leader Shamil Basayev.

April 2009 – Russia seized the counter-terrorism operation while calling off a major part of the army.

August 2009 – The rebel of the separatist government under the leadership of Akhmed Zakayev against Chechen police.

A major demand of Chechen separatist is to establish the independence of Chechnya and in so-called Muslim region. In order to attain the independence, the separatist groups take radical measures which often result in terroristic attacks in Russia and Chechnya.

Among the most famous attack are the bombing of the apartment building in Moscow in August 1999, seizure of Moscow’s Dubrovka Theater in October 2002 and attack in Ingushetia in October 2005 when more than one hundred people were killed (Bhattacharji n. p.) The separatist organizations constantly claim that they are responsible for these attacks and are not going to step back.

These days, the Chechen conflict is still one of the urgent questions of the international security. Apart from the constant terrorist movements and attack in Russia, some scholars assume that these separatist organizations are related to such terrorist movements as Al Qaeda:

Foreign fighters can be described as “individual Muslims who make a conscious decision to join a grouping that is fighting occupation and/or aspiring for self-governance that denies their current national identity” (Freni n. p.). However, the prime goal of the movement is forgotten and the separatist movement transformed into jihad. Current separatist leader, Doku Umarov, attempted to proclaim the Caucasian Emirate and himself as the only leader “Emir” of the country.

Works Cited

Bhattacharji, Preeti. Chechen Terrorism (Russia, Chechnya, Separatist). Council on Foreign Relations, 8 Apr. 2010. Web..

Freni, Salvatore J. Examining the Radicalization of Chechen Separatists During the Resistance Movement. Student Pulse Academic Journal, 2 Feb. 2010. Web.

Introduction

Christopher Browning in his book ordinary men was trying to bring out a clear picture of how ordinary men got involved in history’s serious killings during the world war 11. During this period the Germany soldiers cleared Poland hoping to be the last solution of the problems. In this book, Christopher intends to explain the reasons why ordinary men could act to that extend. Details of ordinary reserve police is explained on how they change from being average to becoming cold blooded killers (Browning 188).

Outline the author’s main subject, argument, and major themes

These ordinary policemen from German, majority were middle aged men, some with families and working class ((Browning 189). Christopher made extra efforts to obtain enough information concerning these men especially through judicial interrogations of early 1960s. apart from the ordinary police from German there was also a group of order police whose main activity was to get rid of ghetto and expelling Jews through capital punishments.

This execution was done in Poland. These groups of ordinary men were chosen just because there were no other people who could have served the purpose. They were not chosen because they were known to be hostile or their experience, but they later proofed to act in hostility. These 500 men were not to be included in the group of order police (Cesarani 420). The average ordinary police killed people mercilessly surpassing the expectations of the Nazi rulers.

In this book, Christopher gives out the sequence of events and personal reactions that made average ordinary men to become murderers. The arguments he displays in his text are sensible as there are no unnecessary assumptions. Christopher has developed well all his statement and arguments and their impacts and their major causes.

According to Browning (162), all the action that were meant for the order police was then made accountable to the average ordinary police. This book brings out the facts that these ordinary police were provided with a lot of opportunities to kill Jews. These opportunities made these ordinary men to exercise their powers and become experts in resettling Jews.

Main characters and how they joined the Battalion

There are several characters in this book who joined the police battalion some of the major ones being Heinrich Himmler who was the head of German police. Heinrich had the authority over the police units and decided to divide the police group into two major groups. Each group had to operate from its main office that was located in Berlin. One group was the order police while the other one was a secret police branch whose main operations were not, to be made known by everyone due to security purposes (Cesarani 142).

The second subdivision, of the police that was referred to as order police was made in charge of another character known as Kurt Daluege. He was the overall ruler of police in country side and in municipal areas. Towards the beginning of the year 1938, Kurt had brought together more than 62000 policemen to work under his authority and make the exercise successful.

Kurt worked hard and came up with the idea of organizing police companies that was approximately 9000 in numbers and composed of 108 policemen. These police companies were later used to form training units for other police to make the number of police growing big.

Another major character in the police battalion is Major Wilhelm Trapp who also had authority of a large group of policemen. Most of the time, he used to incite the men under him to kill Jews through claiming that they all possessed some demonic acts. Trap was a conflicted man as other time he would be heard betraying his fellow Nazi leaders on how they perceived the Jews.

In a certain point Trapp was identified crying due to those murderous acts and being distressed, that is the reason why he used to distance himself from giving orders direct from him to his policemen. After seeing what his orders have done to the Jews, he used to deny that the orders did not come from him. He was once heard saying “If this Jewish business is ever avenged on earth, then have mercy on us Germans” (Browning 212).

Three reasons why most of the men decided to participate in the mass killings

It has been a mystery on how these ordinary people turned into performing mass killings to the Jews, but Christopher has tried to unravel this mystery in his book through giving three major possible reasons. The first reason is stated as manipulation and pressure from the Nazi leaders.

According to the research that was done by Christopher, the backgrounds and the nationalities of these ordinary people who were selected unsystematically would easily lead to work under any pressure without applying any form of resistance. Their background status would not allow them to question the authority even on those serious matters of killing (Browning 202).

Most of these ordinary men could not question the authority as they also feared that the Nazi leaders may also act against them if they happen to oppose the given instructions. Among these ordinary police men, there were a small number of them who were loyal to the ruling of Hitler and could not do anything against the instructions whether there was pressure or not.

This group that wanted to proof their loyalty to the Nazi leaders worked through the motivation of the leaders. There made use of the opportunities that were offered to them to proof their loyalty. These people thought that by performing extra killings to the Jews would promote their image to the Nazi leaders (Housden 96).

The third reason of this mass killing by these ordinary police men as discussed by Christopher is that there is a group that found that as being a new opportunity to secure jobs. They imagined of killing more Jews would impress the Nazi leaders, an action that would lead them be employed as security guards or as clerks.

The fact is that these ordinary men knew that they were not selected because of their furiousness but just because there were no other men who could have served the purpose. The idea of being chosen due to their availability made them to proof to the leaders that they were harsh and equal to the challenge. Christopher has tried to analyze the human nature of killing one another that proofs that the way these ordinary men did was not the normal way but associated with other factors as discussed above.

These ordinary men were given ways on how to kill the Jews such as by either shooting them, using poisonous gases or drowning them, in the first they were seen behaving reluctantly to these orders, but later had n other option other than obeying the Nazi leaders (Browning 190). Pressure and the fear to confront the high men of Nazi made the ordinary men to work mercilessly and perform extra killings to the Jews.

The Major Wilhelm Trapp brought the police battalion together and explains to them on the killings would be conducted. In his speech he threatens those police who will be noticed fearing to shoot will be forced to step down. Through this speech it was clear that every policeman in the battalion would work to his level best in killing the Jews to secure his rank. As one policeman stated:

“Truthfully, I must say that at the time we didn’t reflect about it at all. Only years later did any of us become truly conscious of what had happened then. Heavy drinking helped: most of the other men drank so much solely because of the many shootings of Jews, for such a life was quite intolerable sober” (Browning 216).

The concept of human nature and impact of Technology

Throughout the book, Christopher has tried to display a human nature, for instance when Major Trapp was trying to threaten policemen who would refuse to shoot, when he was seen weeping, and trying to imagine how the murderous act of the Jews would be revenged. These are true signs of showing how Trapp was disturbed by the whole act of killing Jews. On the other hand, the Nazi regime is seen to use its high capacity intelligence while recruiting as many killers as possible while still holding their international ranks.

The Nazi leaders made it public that all those individuals who were serving as ordinary policemen would not be given any chance in the military forces. This notification was to make regime have more power in achieving its goals and objectives of clearing the Jews, as well as putting the ordinary men into trap of not realizing what they were taken for.

Major Trapp as well had ordered the battalion police who feel that they are weak or they have children not to shoot. These ordinary men were full of humanity just like any other normal person.

However, due to the fact that these men had taken an oath before Hitler concerning any deviation against killing the Jews, this oath acted as a big obstacle among some of them to refuse the murderous actions. Browning has been arguing that, majority of the ordinary men who got involved in killings was out of peer pressure, and respect to the authority (Browning 132).

They didn’t kill the Jews because they hated them or being blood lust, but just because they wanted to obey the rules from the Nazi leaders. Browning states that anybody placed in a consistent crowd setting, there is a high likelihood of adhering to the rules even if there might be immoral. The probability of ordinary people to follow orders whether positive or negative is high; even if there is something calling for some clarification or rejection they tend to fear questioning the authority.

Moreover, the human nature is observed by Browning on both cases of the Nazi rulers and the Battalion policemen. The leaders did not want to be involved in the actual activity of killing but made use of these ordinary men. As the sense of humanity is observed, most of the acts that were done to the Jews were full show of inhumanity.

It remains as a mystery on how human beings were capable of doing such acts whether under pressure or not. As our society becomes more atomized, there is an increased risk to the human nature. For instance, in Dachau, horrible ways were used to kill the Jews; some were put in freezers until dead, some were being suffocated, use of gases and others doctors helped to kill them by denying them medicine or even pain relievers.

Currently, when the level of technology is high, there are other methods that can be used to kill a whole nation within a very short time. If some of these technologies were available during that time, all the Jews could be eliminated within a very short time for instance through the use of nuclear bombs. This is an implication that, as the society advances in technology, there is a more risk to the human nature.

Personal views being in the same situation

Taken back to the history of the book, I would be on the side of the ones avoiding killing. Even if Hitler’s believed in a continued killings until the Jews were completely evicted, that did not qualify for a continued peace. Instead, more problems resulted from these killings and whatever was intended to be achieved was not achieved only a continued genocide history in German.

This was a great shame in the country’s culture and a bad reputation as well. Even if 10 million Jews were killed and others made disabled, even the killers were later affected greatly by those murderous inhuman actions. They suffered psychologically whereby some were never to be considered normal human beings (Housden 85).

German created a bad image to the whole world full of shocks, and disgusts due to the death of millions of innocent people just because of land. The issue of holocaust makes people in the world imagine how powerful people can turn to be in search of wealth and fame. As much as the victims` generations still suffer, the killers as well were left suffering.

Those acts of killing could not be tolerated by a normal human being, hence why some were on drugs until the end, that later spoiled them. The spirit of those who were killed kept on haunting the killers until their deaths. This massacre left everyone suffering either physically or psychologically.

The Nazi leaders, who were giving orders, also were being tormented by their commands that led to the loss of more than 10 million people. Being in such a situation I would try to oppose the acts, give an opinion of the right way that would be better, even if not to be followed, but would be remembered. On the other hand, for someone being put in that situation is challenging, the pressure from the top authority and the fear to question the authority may lead to one committing such evil actions.

One may be peaceful and innocent within the heart but the pressure may be too much for one to act according to the will of the heart. Many are the times people wish to do good but the environment fails to allow for a favorable conditions. A certain group of ordinary men were trying to avoid shooting the Jews by giving excuses of being weak, others claiming that they have children, but the orders from the top authority could not allow them to escape the actions (Cesarani 345).

The same case would apply with anyone being put in such a situation; Hitler was very ready to order for murder of those who were reluctant to kill the Jews. Hitler did not mind anybody who was favoring the Jews, to him it was better for everyone to die who would tend to act as an obstacle of killing the Jews.

Majority of the policemen were not of the opinion of killing the Jews but they did not want to disobey the Nazi leaders. They knew by disobeying the Nazi leaders that would be the end of their lives’, they jobs and even to their generations. Most of people including Germans feared Hitler and his orders as he would order for anyone’s death that tended to oppose his opinions, he was known to be a dictator in the whole world.

Conclusion

The author of this book has tried to explain how ordinary human beings could do such immoral acts to a fellow human being. Its main strength is that, readers are made to understand how pressure of a powerful person may lead to a person doing the impossibilities. Its weakness is that it has not pinpointed whether the intended achievement of those killings was managed or not.

If the main issue was to get rid of the Jews, something else could be done to eliminate the whole generation from that land. Taking them in another land instead of drowning them and torturing them with diseases and hunger would be better (Browning 215).

This would have made the victims to be disturbed due to disorientation but still alive, and the killers would not be undergoing psychological torture due to their acts. Killing someone can never be considered as a solution of any problem rather it can only be considered as adding salt to the injury. It’s disgusting for any country to have a culture of genocide.

Works Cited

Browning, Christopher. Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101and the Final Solution in Poland. New York: Harper Collins, 1992.

Cesarani, David. Holocast: The “Final Solution”. New York: Routledge, 2004.

Housden, Martyn. The Holocaust: Events Motives and Legacy. London: Humanities-Ebooks, 2007.

During the first half of the year 1994, Britain and the U.S. focused their air forces and navy in England in preparation for an assault on Hitler. At the same time, the Western Allies were mobilizing their resources and preparing their army for the attack. They had planned to combine their capabilities in order to benefit from the union.

Before the attack, the Allied forces took an overview of their opponent defense resources and bombed German’s possible modes of transporting troops such as railways and attacked industries in preparation for the war (Bentley, 2008, p. 1). When the Allies landed in Normandy, the critical occurrence of World War II unfolded.

The fate of Europe was now on the hands of the Allies. The invasion of Normandy was and still is the first successful operation in America over the years. Despite the fact that German had employed quite a large number of men, the defeat inflicted on them was one of the largest since the First World War. Basically, the campaigns had caused German to lose its position.

The attack on Normandy helped the Soviet Union greatly since it was facing a lot of defense from the German forces. The Allied forces did not have adequate resources but they had enough to sustain them through the attack. The Allies also enjoyed dominance in troop numbers as well as military equipment which enabled them conquer the advantages of the good landscape that the Germans had.

The intelligence of the Allies helped them put more efforts which facilitated their success, something that they were not even expecting due to superiority that German had. The encoding capabilities of the German communication by the Allies were of big help in exposing German’s plans especially on counterattack enabling the Allies to strategize on how to counter the attack (Philips, 2004, p.1).

Air operations by the Allied forces had important contributions in the attack through prohibition of all German communication means. This move prevented the accessibility of attack supplies and support and back up by the Germans making them easy to attack. Although the Allied forces were not expecting much from the protective vehicles, the air activity from these vehicles helped a lot in restraining German units as well as preventing resources accessibility.

The Allied forces never lost hope and the spirit to keep on trying the invasion operation despite the fact that they had lost heavily in the initial phase of the operation and the increase in the number of casualties (Toufe, 2004, p.1). German leaders had failed in responding to the early attack in time with the communication difficulties caused by the Allied forces worsening the German’s situation. The local German commanders lacked the required qualities and resources to undertake the task of attacking a more powerful enemy defense.

The Allied commanders too had their own misunderstandings but this did destroy their efforts in attacking German because they chose to work together and put their disputes aside. On the other hand, local German leaders were being commanded by Hitler and they were only allowed to control the operation away from the fields making it difficult for them to effectively coordinate it. German troops failed because most of them were obtained from prison (Haswell, 2009, p. 1).

From this operation, especially for German, they should learn that they should be united in case a similar situation appears in future. Working together, without superiority complex is a very important element in invasion operations or any other form of war. Above all, proper preparedness should be efficiently ensured.

Reference List

Bentley, S. (2008). The Dutch Resistance and the OSS. Web.

Haswell, J. (2009). D-Day: Intelligence and Deception. Web.

Philips, M. (2004). D-Day for defeatism. Web.

Toufe, Z. (2004). Ronald Reagan, Neo-Cons and the “Intelligence Failures”. Web.

Introduction

Toward the end of the eighteenth century the Jews in German were well established. The Jews knew much about the German culture and had made it part of their lives. The Jews and Germans coexisted peacefully until Adolf Hitler became the German leader. In early nineteenth century a very bad incident took place in Germany which will forever be remembered by all the Germans and Jews.

The Germans led by Adolf Hitler were bent on killing all the Jews in what was termed as the final solution. Hatred was turned to the Jews by the Germans who believed that their misery (the Germans) was due to the presence of the Jews in Germany. This paper seeks to explain how the “The Final Solution” evolved, how it was organized, by whom it was carried out, when it was authorized and implemented and its effects.

The Final Solution

Background Information

Adolf Hittler was appointed as a German leader in the presidential election held in 1932 and was named the president then. The First World War emerged to be a big blow to the German security. They then had to look for new ways to strengthen their country. With time some magazine started to spread out propaganda concerning the Jews.

Elections were conducted to increase political strength of Hittler. The laws governing the country were modified. It was argued that the Jewish were responsible for the alteration in the German culture. Hittler was against the Jewish two years after the election. The Jewish were viewed as outcasts and some laws were made to get rid of them (Bendersky 1).

The Planning

It is believed that the killing of the Jewish was planned towards the end of 1941(Holocaust history 1). Based on some prophesy that the future was to be worse, the Jewish started fleeing out of the country but were restricted by the strict immigration rule from neighboring countries.

Some of the countries tried to solve the immigration process but were unsuccessful. On being pushed too much, the Jewish refused to take commands given to them and assassinated one the top German official. This provoked the government to arrest the Jews and many of them lost their lives and most of their property (Jewish virtual library 1; Bendersky 2).

The worst period for the Jews dawned at the start of the Second World War. The German security was determined to get rid of the Jews. They were divided into different troops. Jews were shot dead and buried. At the start of 1942, a meeting to enforce the operation was conducted.

This meant that the process was to be carried out on a large scale. There were so many death camps which were used to get rid of the Jews (United States 1). Some countries attacked Germany to force it surrender killing the Jews. Some of these countries included: America, Britain and the Soviet Union. This led to the end of the Second World War.

Statistics of those who died

It is worth noting that the number of Jews who were killed was just too huge. It was a display of hatred at the highest level. A simple analysis of the number of Jews who fell shows the following facts:

Aurischwitz II was declared a killing center by Himmler. Approximately 1,000,000 Jews from many parts of Europe were killed here.

Approximately 2,700,000 Jews were murdered in death camps and killing centers by the police and the German SS. In total about 6,000,000 Jews, were murdered. This number accounts for two thirds of the Jews in Europe and one third of Jews in the world. (Aurischwitz 1)

It recorded that the Germans systematically collected all the Jews from various parts of Germany and subjected them to some sort of sorting out whereby those who were declared fit were sent to work in various industries and the others who formed the majority were sent to the gas chambers for their death.

It is worth noting that only a small fraction of the Jews were declared fit thus most of them faced the gas chambers in the various killing centers which had been set up for the purposes of eliminating the Jews (Aurischwitz 1). The final solution has inspired the shooting of many movies based on these massacres with a good examples being escape from Sobibor.

Conclusion

The final solution is one of the worst actions in history that happened to the Jews. The massive killing was inhuman and should not be allowed to happen again. This left many injured physically and psychologically. Were it not for the intervention of other countries probably the Jews would have been eliminated. Killing in such a large scale order is being witnessed even in the present day.

Taking examples of third world countries like Rwanda, it can be argued that still massacres take place though to a small extent.

New policies should therefore be instituted across the world to avoid harassment of any group of people irrespective of their race, religion or numbers. As a matter of fact such kinds of massacres often lead to lifelong grudges which can easily lead to a nation attacking another one.

Works Cited

Aurischwitz. Holocaust History. Holocaust Encyclopedia, n.d. Web.

Bendersky, James. A concise history of Nazi Germany. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. Print.

Holocaust history. When did Hittler decide on the Final Solution? Holocaust History, 2011. Web.

Jewish virtual library. History of the Holocaust.Jewish virtual library, 2011. Web.

United States. Holocaust encyclopedia. United States, 2011. Web.

Background Information

US soldiers went into war in South Vietnam and had the duty to organize how they will attack and outmaneuver Vietnamese soldiers. The US Soldiers were assigned to the 25^th Infantry Division and immediately an arrival they started digging foxholes, to shield them against bullets and attacks from enemy soldiers.

This was one of the best platoons stationed in Vietnam but in recent days, it had suffered from heavy combat operations. After this unit was acquainted with the surrounding environment, it was set to carry out its first night ambush. The soldier on watch out fell asleep while the others were preparing themselves and the North Vietnamese Army walked into the ambush site and killed most of the troop members including private Gardner, many others were injured.

After the attacks, the soldiers organized themselves and followed the enemy into the north of their bunker, where along the way they encountered a mutilated body of one of them tied to a post. Unless we understand the major reasons why soldiers decide to become offensive, we should not condemn their actions whenever they are fighting battles which they have slim chances of winning.

As the soldiers were advancing northwards, they came into a village where they believed the Vietnamese soldiers were hiding. They inquired from the villagers about the presence of soldiers in their midst but got no reliable information though they found a lot of food and arms cache hidden there. Suffering from loss of their colleagues to enemies and defeat in combat, the soldiers started murdering and torturing both men and women, they came across(Halberstam 78).

Critical Analysis

Sergeant Barnes held hostage one woman and asked her husband information which could help capture their enemies but the husband gave no reliable information and Barnes killed the woman. The soldiers set the whole village on fire as a last attempt to quench their frustration and defeat and they resorted to gang rape of young girls but Sergeant Chris stopped the raping.

A closer look on this scene shows attempts by American soldiers to win war against their enemies but they did not understand the terrain. The Vietnamese soldiers knew their land very well and knew when and where to ambush from.

The Americans lost so many soldiers, they could not outsmart their enemies and so they started the village fire as a last attempt to make their enemies come closer so that the Americans can attack them. The enemies did not respond but attacked the platoon again on yet another patrol and the Americans lost many soldiers.

On the other hand, the soldiers could have started the fire so that they could scare the villagers to reveal information about the whereabouts of the Vietnamese soldiers.

Usually the villagers should have persuaded the soldiers to prevent spread of the fires but the villagers were not shaken by these actions of the Americans and that resulted to deaths of many of the villagers and the total destruction of the entire village. The villagers could not reveal any information, which could lead to the arrest of their own soldiers since they knew that this could lead to severe punishment from their soldiers and further more they respected the security from their own.

Burning down the whole village was meant to show other villagers nearby that American soldiers were very serious in settling for nothing other than cooperation from the civilians to get help to ambush Vietnamese soldiers since they had killed many Americans.

On the other hand, the village, which was burnt is the one where Americans found hidden food and arms cache so they believed that by burning down the whole place, Vietnamese will not find a place for settling down while planning another ambush and this will as well cut off any food supplies they were expecting from villagers.

Burning down the entire village on the other hand was a scheme, which was meant to burn the bodies of the people killed so that no one will have a clear count of the damage done. This was aimed at concealing evidence of the killings (Oliver 98).

Conclusion

Soldiers have used the scotched earth policy as a tactic for spreading fear to opponents. This as well helps to deprive off their opponents food and shelter supplies and so the opponents may be weakened in one way or the other and at the same time, the opponents will not find some well-hidden resting place for planning ambushes. This is the same strategy used by Americans to enable them to get time to plan attacks but lack was not on their side since eventually they lost the fight.

Works Cited

Halberstam, David. The making of a quagmire. Ed. New York: Knopf, 1988. Print.

Oliver, Kendrick. The My Lai Massacre in American History and Memory. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press, 2006. Print.