Pensioners for war

Many years ago when I lived in Belgrade, just before the beginning of the “Yugoslav Wars of Succession”, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. In the Corbusier-like “blocs” in New Belgrade where I lived the most politically active and bellicose people were…pensioners. Taking advantage of the socialist rules of retirement, most of them retired at 55 or 60 with pensions that were 70 or 80 present of their working-life incomes. But they were bored. Nothing to do.

Until Milosevic and political issues of the break-up of the country came along. Pensioners suddenly revived. They had enough time to read all the newspapers, even the small print, and they gathered every morning in front of my building to drink coffee, play chess, and discuss the most recent misdeeds that Croatia, or Slovenia (or Tito, for that matter, who was big time dead by then) did to Serbia. I recall some of them banging newspapers on the table, claiming they have just found the most damming evidence of what Communists did. No matter that until six months ago, that is, before the very favorable retirement rules kicked in, they were the most devoted pro-Yugoslav, pro-Titoist and pro-internationalist communists ever. But, now, unexpectedly, they have found the truth.

They had a great time. Perhaps the best time of their lives. They could say anything with no consequence. They had income which was almost the same as when they worked; they lived with their kids (who of course hated having them around but could not kick them out because they needed pensioners’ income) and on top of that all, they had daily political, social and soon military entertainment.

Things got a little bit less fun when their sons were about to be conscripted and their pensions plummeted because of hyperinflation But they did not think of that much in those glorious days of the sunset of communism when, they were told by the likes of Francis Fukuyama and Timothy Garton Ash, all inequities of communism will be set aright and all pensioners of the world will have fun.

During the successive wars that the US establishment waged in the 1990s, I saw a similar thing. A friend of mine loved the “Cool Britannia” logo displayed in Iraq. It was fun that the Brits were ruling Iraq again, but now with really good—really good!-- intentions. And the rulers were all her friends, very nice English guys with Cambridge and Oxford degrees. Think-tankers’ kids would go to school as on any other normal day, while their 40- or 50-year old parents world get excited about bombing Libya, Syria or any other country with four or five letters in its name. A friend loved the war in Iraq because there would be more “reconstruction” work to do for the World Bank and she no longer faced the threat of being fired. They were saying casually and with pleasure and abandon: “Bomb their ass, steal their gas”. It was fun. It mattered not at all whether people were killed, because even those who were killed would surely appreciate the good intentions with which they were killed. The President of the World Bank saluted “our guys who were doing such a fine job in Iraq”. Dinners were particularly animated when a new country had to be attacked. It was fun to discuss, over dessert, whether it should be bombed one way or another. Should you first bomb centers of decision-making or should you not bomb the ethnic minorities so they can rebel early, or perhaps, very differently, attack them first so they feel free to fight the centers of power?

Now, when I read the news I am most impressed by the writers who are like my pensioners of the olden days. They live in New York, Washington, Boston or Florida (the latter: to avoid state taxes), and they are bored stiff. They have money and they want to wage wars, for entertainment, anywhere: in Ukraine, Russia, Iran, Gaza, Syria, Taiwan. They are the most bellicose people. They are annoyed that Trump has not yet started at least three or four wars. They wish more fun times were around: say, Cheney and his crew. They write letters to the editor and op-ed pieces in the mainstream media asking for more killing.

They are bored.