One of the nations that continues to be hardest hit by the coronavirus in the world, Iran’s Army Day was hardly the sort of day for a celebratory military parade that it usually is. This year, the focus was on the military’s role in fighting the virus.
Dubbed the “helpers of health,” the parade that usually shows missiles and other arms instead focused on mobile hospitals and decontamination units, with an emphasis on military medical staff being active in civilian life.
This shift in parade themes makes a lot of sense given what’s going on right now, and also represents a shift in priority toward healthcare and away from costly and endless military buildups. During the pandemic, this is a shift that could get a lot of support.
Getting the coronavirus under control is a huge priority across much of the world, and any nation that has a military that can contribute to the fight has done so. The long-term question is whether this priority will be a long-term change, or whether once the virus is resolved everyone will go back to focusing on conventional wars.
“The long-term question is whether this priority will be a long-term change, or whether once the virus is resolved everyone will go back to focusing on conventional wars.”
I don’t know about everyone but I know one country that will. The same country that has ramped up sanctions and put bounties on other country’s leaders during this time. And the same country that has openly voiced concern that other countries might try to take advantage of them so they made sure that it was known that the bully would respond to any provocation, real or imagined.
we need to ratchet up the sanctions we impose on iran and implement some fresh ones.
Hate to rain on the parade, but shouldn’t those units be deployed somewhere aiding the sick?
Or shouldn’t they have canceled the parade to show they care about more getting sick? I’m not for shutting down societies but parades are hardly “essential”.