A pandemic behavioral change desperately needed

The pandemic has shut down much activity in the US. Unfortunately, that does not include US perpetual war in the Middle East and Africa. That is unfortunate for several reasons. US warfare there should never have be started and should have been ended without a pandemic. But the coronavirus makes it more imperative that our soldiers stand down as it thrives among many military in close quarters. Look no further than the 600 sailors infected aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, one of whom just died. Perpetual war squanders treasure needed for combating both the virus and the corresponding economic meltdown. Perpetual war, the organized killing of peoples, directly contradicts the organized saving of peoples from a pandemic. On March 23, the the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterrez urged warring parties worldwide to lay down their arms to support the bigger battle against Covid-19, the common enemy that is now threatening all mankind.

The US has turned deaf ears to Guterrez's plea. The Trump administration has continued to threaten war against Iraqi militia groups seeking end of the US occupation of Iraq, claiming they are sponsored by our real enemy Iran. Massive bombings against these militia groups which are connected to the Iraqi military are still possible. A shooting war with Iran is still possible. Besides Iraq, the US shows no sign of leaving Afghanistan or Syria; the former a client state whose leaders we're propping up to do our bidding; the latter a regime change target we still seek to achieve.

Besides the bombs we drop, the economic sanctions we impose on Iran, Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela, among others, make it more difficult for them to combat the pandemic. Those sanctions were making life for their citizenry miserable before the pandemic. With it they are adding to its toll.

The pandemic has been a wake up call to virtually every American to alter numerous daily behaviors. Up till now standing down from perpetual war is not among them.