I have finally resolved the issues I have been having with posting non-flickr blogs so I will start posting individual blogs as well as photo blogs here.
Yesterday I came across an article that discussing the Armenian peace keeping force dispatched in Iraq to help out the Americans. On November 11, they suffered their first casualty. And Armenian officer was injured in a road-side bomb attack on their convoy. His leg was severed by the bomb, and he is now in Germany for treatment. Fortunately, he is alive and is expected to recover, albeit he will need prosthetics now.
And today I read that another group of Armenian peace keepers has been sent to Kosovo to replace the ones who have completed their tour of duty there. So far they have not suffered any casualties there which is good. Link to RFERL article.
I am still unsure about our soldiers putting their lives in danger for other peoples' wars. We still remember when some American petro-businessmen hired some 1,200 Afghanis to fight against us in the early 90-s. And now we have sent our boys to protect the business interests of these same Texan oilmen in Iraq.
But then I look at the bright side - the American empire is here to stay, and Armenia is too small to isolate itself. It's better to be with the US rather than against it. It cannot stay neutral - we are surrounded by wolves and the moment Turkey or Azerbaijan think they can get away with eliminating Armenia, they'll do what they did in 1915 in a much grander scale. So we have to be friends with the big boys while being self sufficient as well.
The other positive that I see with the Armenian involvement in these peace keeping initiatives is the opportunity to learn from the modern armies in the world. While a lot depends on more effective technologies of war for a victory, the structure of the Western armies has proven to be superior to others.
The more the Armenian army learns from them, the better.
So we have to be friends with the big boys while being self sufficient as well.
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