Gunnar Heim's intervention is the point at which the Earth-Naqsa war most closely resembles a real life issue. If the text had presented more background information, then readers might have divided into opposed camps. The most basic question is who was behind the bombing of the Earth mission to the Naqsan part of Mundamar? Furious Terrestrials assume Naqsan zealots but Heim says:
"Hell, no. Naqsans don't produce zealots." (p. 96)
We are inclined to believe that Heim speaks from knowledge of Naqsans and not just from wanting to back one side of an argument as against the other. But is he right to claim that New European Intelligence has discovered that Eleutherian agents were responsible when, in the nature of the case, he cannot then elaborate any further on whatever evidence has been gathered by that intelligence service? How reliable is New European Intelligence? Some intelligence services have distributed disinformation. But why would New Europe do that in this case?
Heim adds:
"...the great powers have let themselves get sucked in..." (p. 99)
The Terrestrial World Federation backs the human colonists on Mundamar and the Naqsan League backs the Naqsan colonists on Tsheyakka - same planet, different name. No surprises. But do great powers let themselves get sucked into local conflicts or do they not instead become involved for their own larger scale reasons?
In Anderson's Technic History, the Roidhunate of Merseia backs the sea-dwelling species on Starkad, therefore the Terran Empire backs the land-dwelling species, but the Merseians turn out to have had motives that had nothing to do with the interests of the sea dwellers. Indeed, the contrary.
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
In 1914 none of the great powers really wanted a war--but the chain of events triggered by the Sarajevo Assassination still led to war. Not because of any "plots." It was more a series of steadily worsening miscalculations.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: well, -elements- in Germany and Austria-Hungary wanted war. The German General Staff wanted war before Russia got too strong to beat; large chunks of the Austrian government were prepared to risk general war to crush Serbia.
What the assassination and its aftermath did was weaken and/or paralyze the elements in those countries -opposed- to war.
The militant elements didn't want the war they got; but they did want -a- war.
As for Great Power intervention, it depends. There are calculations of balance of power, of self-interest, of looming future threats, and also (in democracies, which Earth is in the "Star Fox" universe) also popular sentiment.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
You're right, I forgot about those "elements." I was thinking of how Emperor Francis Joseph, Kaiser Wilhelm II (and his Chancellor) did not want war, overlooking those who did. I was disgusted when you explained how some in the German high command actually intercepted dispatches meant for Wilhelm about the Sarajevo crisis, so he would be less likely to succeed in helping to defuse the crisis. That struck me as close to treason!
I should have remembered there were hotheads in Vienna, angered by Serbian intrigues, who wanted to make an end to that pest. And I read years ago that the Austro-Hungarian high command had recently discovered how Serbian Intelligence blackmailed a General Staff officer into betraying a complete set of the A-H plans for a possible war. That meant the Serbs had complete knowledge of Austrian military dispositions. That made the pro-war party press even harder for crushing Serbia.
Ad astra! Sean
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