Opinion | Jazryl Galarosa
The death of Iran’s Quds Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike from the United States (U.S.) last January 3, along with the deployment of thousands of additional troops to the Middle East by the Trump-led U.S. instigated an Iranian retaliation, bringing the 30-year tension between the two countries. While the two countries may appear to have pulled back from a total war, it is not impossible for the current fragile stalemate to fall apart.
The Second World War ended seventy five years ago, and yet we are still facing the aftermath of biochemical and nuclear weapons. As scientists, it is time that we discuss the historical role of science and technology (S&T) in furthering imperial warfare. The aftermath of such warfare, by all forms of logic, served the interests of no one but the elite ruling class. Which is why now, more than ever, should scientists assert the noble duty of S&T in serving the people first and foremost.
Seeds of Destruction
Tracing the history of S&T warfare across the globe, it only spirals down into destruction: destabilization of the economy, society, and the environment. Last August 6, 1945, during World War II, America dropped the world’s first atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan, wiping out 90 percent of the city with around 80,000 people dead. Three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, about 40,000 people were killed with another bombing of Nagasaki. The death toll didn’t stop there; exposure from nuclear radiation brought more casualties from the atomic bomb.
These atomic bombs were engineered under the program codenamed “The Manhattan Project” in 1940. Kylie Lemon of Sciencing points out that nuclear radiations from such bombings contaminates bodies of land and water, burns forests, and mutates flora and fauna around the radius of the atomic bomb explosion.
This was not the only mass-murder weapon the U.S. created. During the American-Vietnamese war in 1961 to 1971, the U.S. utilized a biochemical weapon called “Agent Orange” which they used to spray over Vietnamese forests, effectively killing forest cover as well as innocent Vietnamese citizens. The effects of Agent Orange still haunt Vietnam as of today, with people contracting an expansive list of diseases due to toxins persisting in the environment in which the people live.
Such use of science by the military is not new to us at all, given our long history of struggle against imperialism and fascist administrations. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has used S&T to harass and displace the Lumads, the largest indigenous group in the Philippines, from their own communities. Following Duterte’s Martial Law in Mindanao, military forces has continuously attacked the Lumads especially in Mindanao, destroying and using school facilities for military operations and harassing communities through aerial bombings and intimidation according to Danielle Nakpil. Aside from this, along with the closing of 55 Lumad schools of the Department of Education (DepEd) as reported by Rappler, the revitalized mining and logging programs of the government and big corporations to the unscathed ancestral lands of the Lumads further endanger their communities and their environment.
All things considered, S&T warfare is a betrayal to the people: displacing communities and killing innocents in the process.
The “Science” of War
As the political and economic elite hold the power for S&T, they gain the monopoly over developing S&T in pursuit of personal gains and political objectives. Looking back into the dispute between the U.S. and Iran, the U.S. led the global military force according to the Global Firepower ranking, where Iran placed 14th on the list. With around 716 billion dollars worth of budget for defense, the United States topped the global air force while being one of the leaders in land and naval strength. Petroleum, which causes human and ecosystem damage through its emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, fuel such industries for warfare, with the US using about nine million barrels of oil used per day.
On the other hand, while Iran remains as one of the strongest military forces in the Middle East, they have limited equipment and machinery that could attack the United States. Iran, furthermore, has an underdeveloped ballistic-missile program and a nuclear program, along with international policies and limitations its importation of arms. However, a recent analysis of the International Institute for Strategic Studies noted how Iran utilizes its sovereign capability to spark warfare via third parties as its most potent strategy. Moreover, Peter Grier and Laurent Belsie, staff writers of The Christian Science Monitor pointed out Iran’s use of cyberspace to exact revenge from the death of Major General Qassem Soleimani through digital disruption via hackers, proxy militias, and other indirect means. These cyberattacks, as novel methods for warfare, pose a threat for online security of the general public in line with every country’s mandates for data privacy.
With the following approaches of the two countries and the escalation to a potential open warfare, the methods of engagement of the U.S. is critical in helping it gain control over the nuclear program and the resources of Iran and of the Middle East. With the continuous growth of Iran’s nuclear industry, the tension between Washington and Tehran heightens. With the continuous pressure of the U.S. towards Iran, Iranian officials threaten to leave the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is, according to Borzou Daragahi, “the five-decade agreement where countries forego atomic weapons in exchange for access to peaceful nuclear technology.” With the internationally-backed nuclear deal in the interest of the U.S., Americans along with Europe, according to AFP Services, keeps a close watch over the development of Iran’s nuclear program to prevent its use for military purposes.
Should the two countries, however, wage for a war, it could only worsen the economic and environmental conditions in the Middle East. Iran could easily tap its growing nuclear program for warfare, which poses a threat to human and animal ecosystems. As described by Michael Stothard as “the most destructive and indestructible waste in history,” nuclear waste causes radioactive contamination, endangering organisms and inducing long-term health issues. Furthermore, it could potentially lead to cardiovascular diseases and cancers through exposure.
On the other hand, once Washington declares a war against Tehran, Iran will gravely affect its security and oil trade. The attacks on oil installations in Saudi last September 14, 2019 alone has disrupted five percent of the global oil supply and cut output by 5.7 million barrels a day, where oil prices jumped to as much as 20 percent. In addition, the global economy would be devastated as according to Shubham Ghosh, a price hike in oil will compel the U.S. and other big economies towards a recession. In turn, industrial output would be gravely affected from the economic decline, bringing the economy of countries dependent on oil in the Middle East to a decline. Additionally, a war could be a channel for the U.S. to push through its imperialist agenda towards the Middle East, gaining control over its nuclear and oil resources to establish itself as a formidable political, military, and economic force.
The use of both countries of S&T in escalating their political motivations in warfare would not just cause damage to communities, but it would also endanger the environment as the materials necessary for the establishment of these industries for war contributes to atmospheric toxins prominent in global warming and chemical waste that could harm land and water ecosystems. The use of S&T in warfare, therefore, only worsens the currently-declining conditions of the environment given the imminent climate crisis.
Scientists for whom?
With the development of S&T at present, scientific approaches to problems concerning the public would help the people and the environment to sustain life. However, S&T would never be enough without the presence of inclusive policies and institutions whose services and distributive powers lends itself to the people for the common good. The threat of a potential warfare between U.S. and Iran marks another history of using S&T for personal gains of the elites. Through the years, it has been instrumental in reinforcing abuse into our political systems and reinstating justice in the guise of oppressing the people. In the end, no war could justify the purpose of displaying influence through violation of human welfare and destruction of the environment.
Science and technology must, therefore, be upheld with its core objective to make people’s lives better and more sustainable. Any use of S&T centered otherwise is a mere parody of whom it actually is for: for the people and not only for the powerful. As scientists, we have to pick a side: do we side with forces that fuel oppression and exploitation or do we lead the way for sustainable scientific reforms? Do we develop S&T for war or for the advancement of our national industries? Do we use S&T to build communities or break them? As scientists, we must ask ourselves this: for whom?
With the damage S&T warfare has caused, it is time for scientists to abandon such orientation and worldview of science. For aspiring scientists, especially for College of Science students, we never let the same oppressive capitalist and imperialist system utilize us and S&T to further propagate the injustices of the political elite. At this point, we call for S&T and scientists to bridge the boundaries: between learning and understanding, between critiquing and fighting back, for the oppressed and their rights.
Together, we think back on every environmental defender killed, every climate activist rallying, every researcher, and every scientist who stood with the people and fought against the injustices of an abusive regime. Ultimately, we call for all scientists to continue the fight in pushing for a nationalist, progressive, and mass-oriented S&T.
