Michael Rubin
As Pakistan Confronts Military Failure, Will it Follow the Path of Russia, Congo, or Armenia?: With world leaders in the audience, Pope Leo XIV gave his inaugural mass. Among his themes was a condemnation of war. “In the joy of faith and communion, we cannot forget our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of war.” He mentioned Gaza, Myanmar, and Ukraine, but could have mentioned many more. Since the beginning of the decade, wars have erupted across the globe.
In 2020, Azerbaijan attacked the Armenian-run enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, conquering half before accepting a ceasefire which lasted less than three years before overrunning the rest of the territory, expelling the Armenian population.
What History Teaches
Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, a war that continues in the trenches of the Donbas as drones and missiles strike from Kyiv to Moscow. After importing hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars of drones and military equipment from China, Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi sparked a war in eastern Congo to distract Congolese from his failings elsewhere. It backfired as rebels gained ground both militarily and won hearts and minds of residents with sober and competent governance. The brief India-Pakistan war that erupted earlier this month in the wake of the April 22, 2025 Pakistan-backed terror attack on Indian tourists at Pahalgam was just the latest conflict in a world seemingly increasingly prone to war.
Every war begins with the best laid plans. Often, reality intrudes. The soldiers initially mobilized for World War I in July and August 1914 believed they would be home for Christmas; many spent years in the trenches if they came home at all. Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan both believed they could deliver knockout blows to their enemies, only to see opponents regroup, rally and respond.
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