Should the West end its wars? | Head to Head
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 มี.ค. 2014
- A decade of Western interventions in the Middle East is coming to an end. But is the West leaving behind better countries than they found? Or were their campaigns total fiascos? Nicknamed Darth Vader by his men and Macho Jacko by the British tabloid press, General Sir Mike Jackson, the former head of the British army, says the West did not always achieve its objectives, but will not admit failure.
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When will people realise that these wars arent supposed to be won, but to be sustained. The longer it goes on, the more $ the armaments industry makes
Correct.
The business side of war is incredibly important. But also, is well known in the field of counterinsurgency (hate this word but it's become common language) that these wars are not winnable for a world power. The only way to weaken the irregular forces is through collective punishment so severe that the general population of the area demands the irregulars give up to stop the bleeding the occupying forces are inflicting. Even when this doesn't work, it shows the entire world exactly how brutal you are willing to get with the civilian population of a country that defies your interests. For example, even in conceding Vietnam to the communists, it's clear that through collective punishment America and Europe set back communist movements in the rest of Asia tremendously. Talk of "losing" in Vietnam or Iraq because Al-Qaeda still exists, or the communist party rules in Vietnam is an oversimplification that doesn't line up with how the military leadership in the US or UK measure their own performance.
Thank you for the most interesting comment in months.
Money, money, money...
@@JV-cc9uleffective concept of ruling by fear
He developed a very convenient way of thinking, where casualties are 'impossible to count', where it's impossible to determine whether invading a country for no good reason and loosing half a million lives in the process was 'right or wrong'. Disturbing man.
He is an old school imperialist, we the younger generation aspire to peace and learn from history
No i think we're too emotional
I am 28 years old an I find most of my generation delusionally pacifistic. "What right does the west have?" is a popular question. Its the same right as in every situation, when somebody interferes with others. I do not want to life in a world, where nobody interferes with others. Of course there is no right to interfere in whatever way one likes, but most young people nowadays are too lazy to bring a real argument by criticizing concrete details.
@@jonnymambo2697 thats exactly what propaganda teaches you. The real reason we so call “interfere” is for resource control. If you havent learned that through history yet, then your just watching too much news.
Its a weaponization of human rights to imperialize
@@jonnymambo2697 You still have no right to interfere
@@habesha6883 why not?
Mehdi, I am waiting for you to bring on Bush...
SuperAdmirerOf OmKalthoum that would be awesome. But bush will never ever comes. He is a big traitor.
And Tony Blair.
Bush is not a real man, he will evade mehdi, am sure he already invited
Allah also
@@nadim.9571 wtf
This guy sounds like Tywin Lannister.
Dante Jager Season 5 game of thrones starts today!
Funniest comparison. Deadliest too.
Hahaha true.
Imo even looks like him.
🤣They share a similar mentality as well
Looks like tywin lanister
These criminal killers walk around normally with a tie like if they did nothing and they call them heroes too!
"Can other countries who dont say bad things about Israel have nuclear weapons"
Haha love Mehdi's snarky remarks.
GT45000.well said
"Israel will not exist" is more than saying bad things about israel
+sonu thomas that's got to be less harmful than killing Palestinian kids for throwing stones
There is a way of killing in middle east called "stoning". Does stoning seems that inncoent?!
sonu thomas thats irrelevant. Why can't Iran declare that Israel shouldn't exist when they clearly forced their existance on dead little Palestinian kids bodies?
Whats wrong with that?
The general looks evil
Known as DARTH VADER
Its
he is
The general really needs to brush his teeth
What a desparate attempt to ignore the truth by the General!
Head to Head is my favourite AJE program.
General,it seems your democracy is spread true the barrel of the gun.
That is what Mao said (who killed 40-80 million people)
@@sladetuner8661 but mao is dead and democracy is trying to be spread by the end of a rifle barrel by the western powers , communism isnt spreading anywhere its dead
@@sladetuner8661 also 40 and 80 million??? Pick one
i was just pointing out that Mao killed lot of people
@@sladetuner8661 Actually it was more than that.Mao wasn’t wrong.
I don't know if this talk accomplished anything. Great questions asked but General successfully avoided to answer any question adequately.
Let us ask the women in Afghanistan if they are pleased to have education bought by the blood of their families and fellow Afghani civilians? Or if they would have chosen differently.
You are pretty sick, suggesting that women were better of during the Taliban. The dead Taliban members deserved their fates after putting Afghanistan 🇦🇫 under an Islamic dictatorship.
@@NeoConNET7 You’re even more sick to suggest that she said anything relating to the Taliban. She was talking about the familial and societal costs to families and people there in exchange for women’s education. Namely, civilian casualties.
@@carpediem4081 Freedom is bad therefore because it has a cost? Winning the right to an education against an organization (The Taliban) is bad because Winning your freedom has a cost? Shut up Appeaser.
This old general is extremely rude and ignorant.
He seems as if he is used to people deferring to him, Brian Foster. Sir.
Brian Foster he is extremely,rude and talking a lot of rubbish and he is able to talk all this rubbish because he was never at the front line but looking from behind whilst all theses young soldiers were been killed for some war mongers making money
General Jackson would have been right at home working for King Richard I during the crusades.
Lets Just Grow Up and stop wars all together!
As long as human exists on this planet, there will be war? I could be wrong
We will have to ban armies, then we will have chaos.
This general has made the point very clearly: "Right or wrong to me is far too simplistic." The purpose of all the wars waged by the western countries is to maintain their hegemony in the world. For instance, the Iraq war was launched to maintain the supremacy of the US dollar! Asking right or wrong is way too simplistic and naive. "Only kids will ask right or wrong, adults consider cost and benefits."
A head of army that doesn't take responsibility for actions of his forces.
Look how they lve in total denial.
+Flakey Foont Like you do
They are well trained liars!
.Black and brown lives doesn't Matter
As a westerner from Portugal,i just have to saythat no country has the right to tell other what to do!! We as a society are living 100 years of in the past,we have enough knowledge for renewable clean energy,we dont need oil no more,only the greedy people that profits with oil need oil...This is how the glory of man ended...
This is only the 2nd head to Head I've watched and this is a fantastic program and I hope the presenter does many more. This General, like the rest of his ilk are seriously deranged and a danger to the world. His refusal to accept blame etc shows just what sort of psychopathic sociopaths these cruel cold hearted people are. They have never changed from their superior overview of themselves and their place in the world. Those that have destroyed the lives of millions of innocent people must be brought to justice. Great show, great questions.
This guy is on tv trying to pretend he does not think that why he lies to his voters, big difference
truly!!he simply does not give a fuck about the thousands of people who lost their lives.what a an evil piece of work this guy is.
Yes.
I agree.
wezleey25 We appreciate your support like that. I really do believe that majority of this world is full of good people, it's only the bad people that stick out the most.
As long as same bank is financing both troops, selling the weapon...we cannot expect any end of wars...
This show speaks the truth about Israel. We need programs like this in the USA , oh wait...
Check out Christopher Bollyn on 9/11.
The irony is War crimes committed are pardoned as long as it’s from West or USA
I raise my hat to these individuals, whom willingly put themselves under this grill and take it like a man.
Kinda silly to ask a soldier whether it's right or not after all he is a soldier and soldiers take orders! Gosh...
What country supplied Chemical weapons to Iraq?
Iran according to Secretary of Usa criminals regime Pigpompeo.😂
I must admit, the general had very careful and intelligent answers. Mehdi also did a good job asking the hard questions. This left us with an interesting discussion.
The general lied and denied
Mehdi, I am a regular viewer of your episodes. Your studious nature before interview is something I appreciate. In this particular interview, I feel, you have asked right questions to a wrong person. I understand this as 'Forces will follow the orders from their political bosses. All that they can do is passing advice to political heads.' The very General in the interview is also said that. I think your questions should have concentrated on operational nature activity. Your few questions are of activity related. Hope you agree.
This is one of the best contemporary debate programs I've seen. And, Al Jazeera is doing an outstanding job in a lot of areas.
Apropos the host's grudge against the United States, there's no question but that both the GW Bush administration and the Obama have done huge damage to the credibility of this country in foreign affairs. Both the parties (D&R) have failed to figure out how to properly exercise the military authority of this country, post George H. W. Bush.
The problem is, allowing the continued evisceration of the US Military is a recipe for disaster. There are multiple threads of disaster approaching critical mass in this world, and absent a country with the ability to intervene decisively in a moment of crisis, we risk global mayhem and misery on a scale never imagined by humankind.
I'm not excusing the horrific conduct of three successive administrations, each one worse than it's predecessor. We must hope that the 2016 election produces new leadership capable of devising an entirely new paradigm for the exercise of US military power as sparingly as possible, while reserving the ability to act decisively when circumstances require it.
Those of us here in the USA who recognize the vast corruption which has subsumed Washington D.C. and the body politic in general, understand how dire this country's future looks at the moment. We are trying desperately to save our country from crony-capitalists and modern-day Bolsheviks, and they are winning. But the destructive forces at work in the world today are so many and so dangerous, if not US, who?
If you want to hold a good debate, raise the question: is the so-called two-party system which controls this country a sham, designed primarily to keep the established special-interest cabal that controls our country in power? That is the cancer that must be removed, if the USA is going to survive long enough confront multiple incipient holocausts that face mankind.
General, say it, you loved the war because you did know you had superior arms.
This guy looks straight out of Dickens.
+amaru250 Jacob Marley's ghost ?
+amaru250 with exceedingly poor dental care.
man looks like that one strict headteacher you see in films lmao
But who help Saddam to the power in Irak ?? who supported Saddam from start? who armed Saddam? USA created Saddam!!
Who helped Osama Bin Ladin first??? CIA
I love how with a British general he speaks more like an intellectual and more rational even though I may not completely agree with him, yet with an American general he would probably be like “we need to kill em terrorizers to protect our freedom”
ha ha look it head of the army saying I don't know 😂😂😂
That old man has no idea what was going on... Kosovo, Afghanistan... The man was/is out of loop.
Bruh these dudes must have never seen an episode of head to head 😂 they come on and get demolished at will
Head to head is really right to it. Good job.
as an american citizen i believe as most americans we should stay out of other countries and let them solve there own, every time we go to try and help generally at the other countries request we end up being treated badly, so if we stay out we dont have to deal with any negativity besides we need to clean out our own before we can clean up anyone elses.
Ummmm we end up getting treated badly? We bomb civilians that’s why people are hostile smfh.
What has me thinking, is Saddam and his terrible sons were in Iraq and it didn't annoy anyone until 9/11 or they would still be doing what they were doing..hmmmmm
He says life has gotten better, what lives? The dead millions?
great job mahdi ❤️
ahhhh the awsome power of hindsight and naive people cuddled in western society
I am so grateful for these discussions !! I am new to this and I don't know the name of the mediator but he asks the perfect questions and is patient and respectful. Not to the person but to trying to get him to speak his mind, and he does this brilliantly. These are the only things we need to be talking about. I have been a chef for 15 years, and in the last ten, in England and new Zealand, the only political talk is 9/11 being an inside job. This is where all the anti war movement has gone, and I find it really depressing. Anyone else frustrated ?
Check out Christopher Bollyn on 9 11.
Check out
Architects and Engineers for 9 11 truth
Horrified that Mehdi has no respect for the general. Don't agree with the General on most of every issue but he remained defiant against some very biased questioning. The smugness of the host is a bit beyond me.
Do you respect terrorists?If you do I think some of your family members Are linked to terrorism.
No Offence but was this guy a general
Yes and all them like they know nothing they been trained to kill kill
wow, Mehdi suprises me each time i watch him
Love the way he speaks!
WHO PROVIDED WMD TO SADDAM hUSSEIN BY OUR AMERICAN RUMSFELD BY POPULAR KNOWLEDGE AND THEREFORE SHOULD WE TAKE USA TO TASK FOR THAT?
Politics aside, he stood up the best out of all the people in a head to head with Mehdi. He's clearly a very sharp man.
he is a powerful man who sees he world for what it is and realises that we have to live within that world - however anyone who takes his cue from the attorney general's 2nd opinion must SURELY ask themselves why on earth did he change his mind, yes there are grey areas but if so many ordinary people could see through the Blair/Bush bullshit, one has to ask 'why couldn't he??' - he will however face a more accurate judge than me one day, I hope
Religious terrorism and ideology has sadly not been discussed here.
What the general said was correct here- there is a problem with the whole area - Afghanistan and Pakistan. And the violent nature of the religion itself
"Could Syria be next?"... shiversss
Amazing to watch this knowing how it all turned out.
How do you get a voice like the general? The last I heard similar one was 30 years ago in the movie Return of Dracula ( Christoper Lee)
Charles Dance.....Tywin Lannister
Talking about victory in Afghanistan in how women gets to be educated, Strange thing is women in west whom does the same work as men and have same qualification as but they get less paid."EDUCATION"
Saracen Slayer Why use so ugly words ?Neanderthal is more likely to be you rather than me !!! How else do you want to compare ? WHY do people educate themselves ? I believe you don`t want to accept the FACT that women are big time discriminated all over the WORLD and the so called democracy is just TOTAL bullSHIT. NATO is in AFGHANISTAN because of HEROIN.and in IRAK because of OIL and some very deep secret ANTIQUE tecknology used by the BABILONIANS some thousands YEARS ago. Now they want to have a permanent BAS in UKRAIN.!.The reality of NATO`s presence in UKRAIN is very far from what is being reported in the MEDIA.!!!. What the IMF is doing at the moment is putting UKRAIN in so huge DEPT and then THE ELIT who are the FIGURES responsible for the 2008 GLOBAL economy`s crush will TAKEOVER LAND and BUSINESSES in UKRAIN for LÅNSECURITY... At the same sucking from UKRAIN`s NATURAL RESOURSES and use the land to grow FOOD in huge scales.UKRAIN is very rich in natural resourses and there LAND is very very rich in nutritions,so AGRICULTURE will be very profitable BUSINESS in nearby FUTURE."""SO you see my friend NATO are just CRIMINALS but with the right to KILL and DO WHATEVER it pleases there BOSSES...
Whoa... Someone is coming off as a little crazy. I mean, "YEAH! WHY doesn't our PRESIDENT give a speech to US like THIS'''''
Murderers in court vehemently deny all charges up until the point they are sentenced. Is this new?
I enjoyed the pragmatism with which this general faced the debate. War is a messy business: the one with the most planning which also has the most ad-hoc executing of them all. Also, the man is a soldier, and clearly an old fashioned one. He won't cheese on his superiors (politicians) and his subordinate soldiers in public.
The General just likes to think in his mind that he won the wars, but in actuality they did more harm than good. The wars in the middle-east are just another sad chapter in our history books. Put money into helping people and the environment; not maiming them and blowing it up.
Really loved the exchange at 36:37.
Credit to Mike Jackson for facing a tough interview, but his reasons for refusing to admit failure poses the question - what is greater, the costs or the benefits of admitting where we went wrong?
Good summation.
this old man is not used to being challenged..
Mehdi's follow-up questions are simply right ones which people are burnig to ask someone who is involved and has first-hand information.
The only time he got rattled was when the IRA came up . .
tywin lannister
agreed
idiotic fools
STFU. Shit head. Didn't ask ur stupid opinion.
Put up or shut up
fuken rofl at you guys, Only on the internet.
Tywin Lannister was the greatest ruler the Seven Kingdoms ever had. If only we had him.
The debate with Martin Guinness was one sided rubbish! How can you say sorry to the British who invaded YOUR country by force and you fight to repel them and then call the IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY terrorists??
that was so unfair to the man
Yes, but he desreved to know how much we hate him.
Jackson and his cronies just a detail of history/our shame.
Never, that is the source of their economic and political power.
Wars is sickening.
Never, it is one of the greatest source of wealth. All wars are legal as long as it is done by me and my friends.
He could be a great actor
They just can't mind there own business USA. and UK follow them every where in support. The behaviour is like boss of the world. They had raged war in many parts of the world and death destruction is only they left
When there was no America and british countries involved in east there was much peace...thts the ebtire conclusion...😞
I, for one, was very impressed with the general here.
Why??
are british soldiers not allowed to brush their teeth?
Lol this is the best comment. actually the NHS covers dental health....bad teeth is how you identify a war criminal....
They don't put flouride in their water that's why their teeth are all bonkers
A nation first closes its eyes over unjust actions then sleeps and then dies.
A Brit saying perhaps George Bernanrd Shaw ' A Strategy is measure by its results' here we see nothing but failed adventures one after another. Ignorance is a short term bless but when it comes to nations, mistakes are written on stones forever and those stones in the end are placed at a grave dug by mistakes.
35:30 "...I'm not a politician", then stop talking like one and take responsibility for what those under your command did.
General Jackson is absolutely right to say you cannot determine the validity or benefit of action based on civilian casualties or fatalities. It is important to know these figures, but it is not the determining factor, for anyone. I feel on this particular point in the first five/six minutes the General has been heckled.
It is full 47 minutes of him avoiding any responsibility which tells us that there are absolutely no accountability. It is another major problem on its own. I mean seriously, that man is smart, with that attitude surely he can sleep nice and sound at night.
The general did not choose to invade Iraq or Afghanistan. The job of a general, in times of peace, is only to provide military advice to the PM and their cabinet. Generals have absolutely no choice in whether or not the UK goes to war, they are just told that they must make plans for a war and then they must carry them plans out. To say that a general should feel morally guilty for the decisions his country, rightly or wrongly takes, is to show complete ignorance to what the military are meant to do and what the job of a general entails.
Muslims complaining about non-muslims going to war. That's pretty hilarious.
+terribrad24 Another sign that in essence... western democracy is superior.
Gog and Magog wars
Deborah Haynes, Defence Editor, The Times of London
Nadim Shehadi, Research Fellow, Chatham House
Frank Ledwidge, Fmr Officer, British Navy
21:28 - Months of NATO
- M Hasan
22:04 - "Libya... measured application of force"
- Gen MJackson
Good Job General Jackson. Your answers off the cuff, were better than most could do with hours to study.
On this show every guest lie in the face of camera, public and the host and still come away with it. This is the most annoying thing about this show. I think Mehdi should not let the guest just come away with their lie so easly.
Failures can not be overshadowed by German_Latino_Greek syllable. The real shame is that Brtish Royal Army never had the intent of being Royal in truth, they have always been imperial.
wow this guy almost spilled the beans about oil and regional/geographic control at 16:30 , but then word saladed his way out of it...embarrassing for him
The General looked sincere when he said that he expects international law to be followed. I wonder if he was? Nobody says that as a "bolstering argument" lately.
Mehdi this man is pure evil I see you getting intimidated at times. Your a superhero to me. If you stop were all gonna die at the hands of heartless men such this imperialist.
so what did gen Jackson say to his American superior when asked to block off the Russians from the airport? it seems his reply was edited out of the show..
That is what arrogance is all about. now you see it alive and in action.
An elegant legitimate criminal.
He is a simple honest soldier. Thats the only way men that held such responsibility can sleep at night.
Libya was much better under Gadhafi on human rights issues then it is Evan after 5 years of NATO intervention .Libiyan people were much happier under Ghadafi then Brits today. It had 100 % employment every Libyan was aducated , every libiyan had roof over his head and food in his stumoc . We can't claim that about Britain today
It is useless to ask the generals. Rather we should ask bush, Blair and other politicians under whose orders wars are initiated. They should be asked to justify such wars causing human sufferings in this world.
Why can't ME-NA people sort out their own problems?
Hamid karzai turned out to be a corrupt fraud. So quoting him- maybe not such a smart thing????