Seeing the vast devastation across the globe, not much has changed in warfare … targeting civilians for subjugation of a people. Watched this documentary this morning …
Aerial bombing from Guernica to Hiroshima | DW |
The age of aerial bombing began in 1937 in Guernica and caused destruction, death and terror. It was a new form of warfare that changed the world forever. This two-part documentary traces the alarming evolution of aerial bombing.
When the first aircraft took to the skies at the beginning of the century, it soon became evident that in addition to covering long distances they could also be used to carry bombs. It was a development with devastating consequences. In 1937 Nazi Germany’s Condor Legion bombarded Guernica during the Spanish Civil War – a relatively insignificant small town. The assault destroyed 80 percent of all buildings and killed over 200 civilians.
This attack on a defenseless civilian population marked the opening of a new chapter in military warfare, as Guernica became a symbol of terror from the skies. The atrocity inspired Pablo Picasso to paint a masterpiece named after the town: a powerful anti-war statement. Guernica, however, was merely the beginning. The Second World War then saw cities and villages on all fronts subjected to air raids: in Europe, China, and Japan. The devastation culminated in the dropping of two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945: just eight years after Guernica. This two-part documentary tracks the alarming evolution of aerial bombing.
This terror from the air has been modernized with America’s assassinations by drone warfare. US Special Forces trained with Israeli’s IDF in the Negev desert in the lead-up to the Iraq War – training for urban warfare after the success of the Jenin massacre on the West Bank. The IAF was known using massive bombs to destruct apartment building to get a “high-value” target. Creating chaos to break the morale of the population.
○ The Iraq War and terror backlash across the globe
