How warlike was the society?

Transcription

1 How warlike was the society? Today in class, we will examine how warlike Rome and the United States are. We will compare Rome s aggression in the Third Punic War to conflicts that the United States has started in recent years. Yesterday, we compared the treatment of foreigners in Rome and the United States. Answer the questions below 1. What were peregrini? 2. Define foreigner. 3. Define citizen. 4. Define second-class citizen. 5. So, are we Rome?

2 How warlike was the society?: Rome Third Punic War The Third Punic War was a brief, tawdry affair, unworthy of the heroism of the previous conflicts. If ever there was a war that could be called unnecessary, this one would qualify. Despite all the penalties and all the impediments, Carthage recovered economically. Rome had taken away her empire and the financial burden that went with it, but had left her free to pursue trade as she willed. Carthage paid off her war indemnity and by the middle of the second century, was flourishing. This did not set well with many Roman senators. Rome had acquired a good deal of fertile land along the coast of North Africa, and a number of senators had invested in olives and grain there. But these were goods in which Carthage traded as well, and Carthage was rather better at it. A faction within the Senate, led by Cato the Elder, began to agitate against Carthage. Was it right, they asked, that Carthage should prosper while Romans toiled? Was Carthage's new prosperity not potentially dangerous? After all, the city had twice troubled Rome. And, in any case, Carthage was harming Roman mercantile interests. Cato took the lead in these arguments. He was a prestigious statesman with a prestigious reputation. He was the classic virtuous Roman and he didn't mind that others knew it. His public career was spotless, his marriage was perfect, his oratory was compelling, his values were conservative, and all in all he got on some people's nerves. Cato began to urge that the only sure defense against a resurgent Carthage was to destroy it. Rome would never be safe so long as Carthage stood. He made a campaign of it: Carthago delenda est! -- Carthage must be destroyed! In the 150s this was Cato's slogan, repeated endlessly. At parties he would bring it up -- Carthago delenda est! In the Senate he might be speaking on any subject, but always found a way to work in his slogan: the harbor at Ostia should be expanded... and Carthage must be destroyed! the

3 appointment of Gaius Gaius to provincial governor should be approved... and Carthage must be destroyed! A vote of thanks to a loyal tribal chieftain... and Carthage must be destroyed! In the end, Cato got his wish. I might claim that Rome went to war simply to hush the old boy up, but alas Carthage gave Rome all the excuse it needed. The neighboring African tribes learned soon enough that the Carthaginians did not dare to cross the Roman-imposed frontier. They learned to raid the Punic hinterland, then race across the border to perfect safety. These raids gradually became serious and Carthage chose finally to defend itself. Carthage re-armed. In 149 the tribesmen again raided, but this time a Punic army followed them and destroyed their camps. With Cato's slogan ringing in their ears, with their jealousy of Carthage's economic success, the Roman senate decreed that the terms of the treaty had been violated and it duly declared war. The war took three years. The Roman military waited and soldiers argued with each other for the honor of crushing Carthage. The people of Carthage fought fiercely, knowing their fate. The great city walls were not breached until 146, and it took a week of street fighting for the Romans to work their way to the citadel. After some further resistance, the starving garrison surrendered. Carthage was utterly destroyed. Cato's slogan was implemented in typical thorough-going Roman style. The walls of Carthage were torn down, the city put to the torch. The citizens were sold into slavery and the Senate passed a decree that no one could live where Carthage once stood. Scipio Aemelianus received a triumph for his victory. So ended the Third Punic War. It had no real consequences, other than the destruction of the city became legendary. The real victory over Carthage was achieved in 202. If the sad business of 146 meant anything, it showed that Hannibal's shadow still hung over Rome. 1. What happened in the Third Punic War?

4 2. How did Rome treat Carthage? 3. Was the Third Punic War necessary for the survival of Rome? 4. In which ways is the Third Punic War disturbing? 5. Did the Romans use reason in their decision to invade Carthage or just raw emotion and jealousy?

5 How warlike was the society?: United States May 8, 2009 U.S. Admits Civilians Died in Afghan Raids By ELISABETH BUMILLER and CARLOTTA GALL WASHINGTON United States officials acknowledged Thursday for the first time that at least some of what might be 100 civilian deaths in western Afghanistan had been caused by American bombs. In Afghanistan, residents angrily protested the deaths and demanded that American forces leave the country. Initial American military reports that some of the casualties might have been caused by Taliban grenades, not American airstrikes, were thinly sourced, a Pentagon official in Washington said Thursday, indicating that he was uncertain of their accuracy. It looks like at least some of the casualties were caused by the airstrikes, the official acknowledged. A second Pentagon official said, It wouldn t surprise me if it was a mix, but added that it was too soon to tell. A more complete report was due from Afghan and American investigators at the scene within 24 hours. Both officials requested anonymity so that they could speak more candidly. The deaths drew hundreds of Afghans into the streets to protest outside police stations and the governor s office in Farah Province, where two villages were bombed after Afghan forces were ambushed by Taliban insurgents on Monday night. Outside the governor s office, police officers fired on demonstrators who threw stones, wounding three of them. The United States defense secretary, Robert M. Gates, questioned by journalists as he visited the capital, Kabul, apologized for any loss of innocent life. But he said that exploiting civilian casualties and often causing civilian casualties are a fundamental part of the insurgents strategy. We regret any even one innocent Afghan civilian casualty, he said. And we will make whatever amends are necessary. He said that he had heard initial reports indicating that the casualties might have been caused by Taliban grenades, not American airstrikes, but said that he had no confirmation. The number of civilians killed in military operations, particularly American bombing raids, has become a chief source of Afghan disenchantment with the war against the Taliban. The United Nations estimated that more than 2,000 civilians were killed in fighting last year. Villagers and Afghan lawmakers disputed the initial American claims that Taliban grenades had caused the casualties. Muhammad Naeem Farahi, a Parliament member who is from the area and has followed the case

6 closely, laughed at the suggestion. No, that s not true, he said, and I am someone who supports the American presence. He said he had gathered no reports of civilians wounded in the firefight before the bombing. He accused the Americans of using petty criminals as informants who often gave false reports and might even work for the Taliban. Asked to repeat their accounts of what happened in their villages on Monday, two villagers reached by telephone gave the same details of the sequence of events as before. Fighting broke out when Taliban fighters attacked Afghan Army and police forces at a police checkpoint on the main road some 500 yards from one of the sites that was bombed, said Muhammad Jan, whose village, Shiwan, was bombed. The fighting did not reach the village or cause casualties there, he said. The Taliban pulled back into the village and then left the area. Later, planes came and bombs fell, but by then no Taliban fighters were in the village. The bomb damage was so extensive that it could not have been caused by grenades, Mr. Jan said. Taliban have no strong weapon to bring these kinds of casualties he said. The Taliban did not throw grenades into civilians houses. Jamil Ahmad, who lives in another bombed village, Granai, supported the account. The battle finished and the Taliban retreated, he said, adding They did not stay in the villages. Protesters interviewed by telephone said they demanded a withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. In the main city of Farah Province, traders closed stores and said they would not reopen them until the airstrikes had been fully investigated and the demonstrators demands were met. Three high-ranking officials met the protesters and offered to resign in sympathy, according to Allauddin Khan, a tribal elder who was among those who met with the local officials. Secretary Gates s remarks did little to relieve the anger. He accused the Taliban of using civilians as shields and of causing civilian casualties by hiding among noncombatants during attacks in a tactic to divide the population from the government and its American supporters. He said civilian casualties had dropped 40 percent so far, compared with last year, while casualties among Afghan security forces and American and coalition troops were up 75 percent. Mr. Gates arrived in Kabul after visiting troops in southern Afghanistan and bases that are being expanded for some of the additional American forces President Obama requested. Elsewhere, in Helmand Province, in the south, a suicide bomber on a motorbike struck a NATO convoy as it was passing through the main street of a town, Gereshk. The blast killed 12 civilians, including children, and wounded 32 others, a government spokesman said. Elisabeth Bumiller reported from Washington, and Carlotta Gall from Kabul, Afghanistan. Taimoor Shah contributed reporting from Kandahar, Afghanistan, and Thom Shanker from Kabul.

7 MSNBC.com Clinton: U.S. regrets Afghan deaths Red Cross says dozens of civilians killed; American bombs to blame? The Associated Press updated 7:18 p.m. ET, Wed., May 6, 2009 KABUL, Afghanistan - Villagers dug dirt graves Wednesday to bury what the international Red Cross said were dozens of Afghans including women and children killed in American bombing runs. A former Afghan government official said up to 120 people may have died. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. "deeply, deeply" regretted the loss of innocent life, and the U.S. military dispatched a brigadier general to investigate the deaths in two villages in western Afghanistan's Farah province. The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, voiced doubts about whether it was an American airstrike that caused the tragedy. McKiernan said U.S. military personnel had come to the aid of Afghan forces who may have been ambushed by Taliban militants on Sunday. He said the Taliban beheaded three civilians, perhaps to lure police. "We have some other information that leads us to distinctly different conclusions about the cause of the civilian casualties," McKiernan said. He would not elaborate but said the United States was working with the Afghan government to learn the truth. A senior U.S. defense official said late Wednesday that Marine special operations forces believe the Afghan civilians were killed by grenades hurled by Taliban militants, who then loaded some of the bodies into a vehicle and drove them around the village, claiming the dead were victims of an American airstrike. A second U.S. official said a senior Taliban commander is believed to have ordered the grenade attack. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information. Two other senior defense officials said the grenade report comes from villagers interviewed by U.S. investigators who went to the site, but there is no proof yet that the report is right. If correct, it would be the first time the Taliban has used grenades in this way, presumably to mimic the effect of a bombing. Deaths 'unacceptable' Afghan President Hamid Karzai called the deaths "unacceptable," speaking only hours before his first face-toface meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House. Karzai has long pleaded with the U.S. to minimize civilian deaths during its operations, contending that such killings undermine support for the fight against the Taliban.

8 Obama's national security adviser, James Jones, said Obama led off his meeting with Karzai by expressing great sympathy over the loss of life and pledging that investigations into what happened in the bombing will be "pursued aggressively." The number of civilians killed in Afghanistan's worsening conflict jumped 40 percent to a new high last year, though more than half of the deaths were inflicted by Taliban insurgents and other militants, the U.N. has reported. A record 2,118 civilians died from violence last year, up from 1,523 the previous year. Associated Press photos showed villagers burying the dead in about a dozen fresh graves early Wednesday, while others dug through the rubble of demolished mud-brick homes. Women, children among victims On Tuesday, an international Red Cross team in Farah's Bala Baluk district saw "dozens of bodies in each of the two locations that we went to," said spokeswoman Jessica Barry. "There were bodies, there were graves, and there were people burying bodies when we were there," she said. "We do confirm women and children." Afghan police have said that 25 Taliban died in the fighting, which began Monday and lasted until early Tuesday. It was unclear whether they were among the dozens of bodies witnessed by the Red Cross. Tribal elders called the Red Cross during the fighting to report civilian casualties and ask for help, said Reto Stocker, the agency's head in Afghanistan. "We know that those killed included an Afghan Red Crescent volunteer and 13 members of his family who had been sheltering from fighting in a house that was bombed in an airstrike," Stocker said. 'Overwhelming firepower' A Western official said Marine special operations forces called in the airstrikes. The U.S. troops responded to a call for help from Afghan security forces who had been attacked by Taliban militants Monday afternoon. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information. "Because of the overwhelming firepower coming in by the enemy, they called in airstrikes," said Capt. Elizabeth Mathias, a U.S. military spokeswoman. Villagers said they gathered children, women and elderly men in several compounds near the village of Gerani to keep them away from the fighting, but the compounds were later hit by airstrikes. Taliban militants often take over civilian homes and launch attacks on Afghan and coalition forces. U.S. officials say the militants hope to attract U.S. airstrikes that kill civilians, thereby giving the Taliban a propaganda victory. After a massive case of civilian casualties in the village of Azizabad last August, McKiernan ordered forces to consider backing off from a fight if commanders thought civilians were in danger. Afghan officials and the U.N. say 90 civilians died in Azizabad; the U.S. says 33 died.

9 Mohammad Nieem Qadderdan, a former district chief of Bala Buluk who visited the site of this week's battle, said 100 to 120 people were killed. If 100 civilians died in the fight, it would be deadliest case of civilian casualties since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. "People are still looking through the rubble," Qadderdan said. "We need more people to help us. Many families left the villages, fearing other strikes." Provincial authorities have told villagers not to bury the bodies, but instead to line them up for the officials conducting the investigation, Qadderdan said. Clinton: 'painful' loss Karzai ordered an investigation, and the U.S. military sent a brigadier general to Farah to head a U.S. probe, said Col. Greg Julian, a U.S. spokesman. Afghan military and police officials were also part of the team. The team did not reach the site of the bombings Wednesday but hoped to on Thursday. Opening a meeting with the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan at the State Department, Clinton said any loss of innocent life was "particularly painful." Karzai thanked Clinton for "showing concern and regret" and said he hoped the countries "can work together to completely reduce civilian casualties in the struggle against terrorism." State Department spokesman Robert A. Wood said later that Clinton's remarks were offered as a gesture, before all the facts of the incident are known, because "any time there is a loss of innocent life we are going to be concerned about it, and we wanted to make that very clear." Kai Eide, the senior U.N. envoy in Afghanistan, said avoiding civilian casualties is a "particularly big challenge" given the increased number of U.S. forces arriving in the country this summer. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates landed in Kabul to meet with troops as the U.S. prepares to send 21,000 more forces to bolster the record 38,000 already in the country to battle an increasingly violent Taliban insurgency.

10 1. What is the main idea of this article? 2. What is a civilian? 3. What do people accuse the United States of doing? 4. Why do many people in Afghanistan want the United States to leave their country? 5. Do you think that what the United States is doing in Afghanistan is more similar to or more different from what Rome did to Carthage? Explain.

11 Comp Project Class Work Part II Circle the underlined words in the topic sentence below that best summarize your opinion. The United States of America is/is not very similar to Rome because it is just as/not as warlike as ancient Rome. 1. Based on the words that you circled, find two quotations from each of the articles that back up your point. Write down the four quotations below! 2. Explain how these quotations prove the topic sentence. You do not need to write a full paragraph, but rather give excellent explanation.

12 Is the United States as warlike as ancient Rome? -warlike means to love violence and war

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