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When tech versus tech

Yesterday saw Iran launch hundreds of drones plus a barrage of missiles against Israel.

Looking video of the skies over Jerusalem and other cities you'd swear it was a scene from a scifi movie -- with shafts of light arcing overhead and explosions dotting the heavens.

The most interesting aspect of that attack is the minimal effect all that Iranian weaponry had on the intended target.

We had GPS-guided muntions going up against radar-guided defense missiles and it seems, at least this time, the defense missiles prevailed.

The undeniably great thing about this skirmish was the fact that very few lives were lost.

Could it be that hi-tech war is not, as feared, a nuclear exchange that kills tens of millions -- but more of a computer game where tech vs tech while people stand back and watch?

If that is the case then woohoo, that can't be a bad thing.

The downside of such a conflict is that if/when one side does breach the defenses of the other, the deaths inflicted become little more than numbers on a scoreboard and the true toll in human suffering may be ignored.

Were there any victims in yesterday's conflict?

Hell yes there were.

How many hundreds of millions of dollars in missiles, jet-fuel, explosives, guidance systems, bullets and other ordinance was spent between Iran's efforts to overwhelm Israel's defenses and the huge efforts expended by Israel and its allies to fend off the attack?

Imagine if all that money had, instead, been spent on healthcare, education and furthering our understanding of the world in which we live. How much better off would countless people be as a result?

What is wrong with mankind, that we think it's okay to engage in such hugely wasteful exercises while there is so much need in the world?

And what drives this war-lust?

Well it seems that, as is so often the case, religion plays a huge part in this.

How ashamed we should be that we allow our belief in super-powerful deities to justify our penchant to kill and destroy others.

How hypocritical is it that so many claim to be working "in God's name" when they take lives and destroy livelihoods.

I'm all for people having the right to worship whatever deity they choose, if they're silly or insecure enough to feel that this is necessary but nobody has a right to force their beliefs on others -- as is so often the case these days.

Right now, given that Iran's attack was successfully fended off and the Iranians have made themselves look weak and ineffectual, Israel should simply get on with getting on and ignore the temptation to strike back. This would bring a degree of closure and calm to the situation and the region. Sadly, I fear this will not happen and already they're talking about retaliation.

I can have no sympathy for either side when it seems that they are more interested in scoring points and playing one-upmanship than they are in truly protecting the interests and the future of their people.

With all these pissing contests going on around the world, it's only a matter of time before someone misjudges their move and we descend into yet another global conflict from which there can be no winner. All we can hope is that scores are settled by way of tech-vs-tech, as was the case yesterday, and not by the spilling of blood.

Carpe Diem folks!

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