Anthony Alberts

Host

World War I, 100 Years Later

Jun 28, 2014·12 visitors

Jack Terry

Cohost

Stage· 47 messages

Jun 28, 2014

Today 100 years ago Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated, starting the chain of events that led to World War I. Join Anthony Alberts as he and Jack Terry discuss how it changed the world and how we are still feeling the effects today.

Anthony Alberts · 8:00 PM

Tony Roberts here to tawk about a pretty important day in World History. You up for it Jack?

Jack Terry · 8:00 PM

Always. Thanks for having me Tony.

Anthony Alberts · 8:01 PM

Gladly. 100 years ago today, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian empire was assassinated along with his wife by a Serbian nationalist.

Jack Terry · 8:02 PM

Indeed, and it was actually the second attempt on his life that day.

Anthony Alberts · 8:02 PM

A bomb thrown from a bridge bounced off of their car as they went to attend a royal function.

Jack Terry · 8:03 PM

If something like that happened today, immediately they would have been rushed to a secret secure location.

Anthony Alberts · 8:03 PM

It's certainly a different world today than it was 100 years ago, but the effects of that war are being felt very accutely today.

Jack Terry · 8:03 PM

Yes they are, thanks to the arbitrary way the w

Jack Terry · 8:04 PM

"winners" if you can call anyone a winner in a war that killed 37 million people, of World War I redrew the map of Europe and the Middle East.

Anthony Alberts · 8:05 PM

It's almost frightening to think how different the world looked before and after World War I. The biggest issue from those decisions we're seeing today is what's going on in Iraq.

Jack Terry · 8:06 PM

What's going on in Iraq is it looks like we may never get out of there. Military "advisers", drones, both armed and unarmed,

Anthony Alberts · 8:06 PM

military advisers were what they were called when we first sent troops to Vietnam, remember.

Jack Terry · 8:06 PM

all of this because of the ISIS.

Anthony Alberts · 8:07 PM

What the mapmakers didn't understand at the end of World War I was that much of the Middle east wasn't shaped by who people were but what they believed in.

Jack Terry · 8:08 PM

Well, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is here to change that.

Anthony Alberts · 8:08 PM

And from the looks of it they are well on their way.

Jack Terry · 8:08 PM

I'll be the first to admit I don't fully understand who the ISIS is and what they are about.

Anthony Alberts · 8:09 PM

In layman's terms there are two distinct classes, if you will, of Muslims: Sunni and Shi'ite

Jack Terry · 8:10 PM

Those names are familiar to me. If they're both Muslim, what's the difference?

Anthony Alberts · 8:10 PM

In a way it's a lot like the fact that not ever Christian belongs to the same denomination.

Jack Terry · 8:11 PM

No, but you don't have an army of methodists trying to chase out a nation of Catholics to establish a new nation!

Anthony Alberts · 8:11 PM

No, it's certainly more complicated than that. First of all, the breakdown is about 88% Sunni and 12% Shi'ite.

Jack Terry · 8:12 PM

So I'm guessing that means the Sunni's are probably the ones running the show.

Anthony Alberts · 8:13 PM

You'd think that, but to paraphrase The Doors, the Shi'ites have the money while the Sunni's have the numbers.

Jack Terry · 8:13 PM

meaning?

Anthony Alberts · 8:14 PM

Meaning the Shi'ites are the ones in power. The prime Minister of Irag is a Shi'ite, as is the ruling power of Iran.

Jack Terry · 8:14 PM

What exactly caused the split?

Anthony Alberts · 8:15 PM

Sunnis believed that after Mohammed died in 632 it was up to the Muslim community to decide who their next leader would be, while the Shia believe in divine ordination.

Jack Terry · 8:16 PM

I'm guessing they didn't agree on the same person.

Anthony Alberts · 8:16 PM

Not even close.

Jack Terry · 8:16 PM

So how does this affect us now?

Anthony Alberts · 8:16 PM

The way the maps were drawn after World war I, more concern was given to what superpower was going to run which area then to the demographic make-up of each country.

Anthony Alberts · 8:17 PM

With this disregard for 1300 years of bad blood, it has only been a matter of time, and in fact this war has been fought for decades.

Jack Terry · 8:18 PM

if I remember right it was part of the basis of the Iran Iraq war of the 1980's.

Anthony Alberts · 8:18 PM

Yes and the United States didn't help matters any by alternating which side we backed for our own gains.

Jack Terry · 8:18 PM

Excellent. How did we not see this coming?

Anthony Alberts · 8:19 PM

The ISIS was born out of the conflict in Syria. Naturally, after fighting two long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States was wary to get involved in another sectarian Middle East conflict.

Jack Terry · 8:19 PM

Too wary from the look of it.

Jack Terry · 8:20 PM

And now we're getting back, but is it toolate?

Anthony Alberts · 8:20 PM

It's hard to tell. The ultimate goal of the ISIS is to create a new country and draw new borders, which may or may not include Baghdad.

Jack Terry · 8:21 PM

And aren't the Kurds involved in all of this?

Anthony Alberts · 8:22 PM

Sort of, but certainly not by their choice. They have long since wanted to be an autonomous nation. As such, they are ready for any opportunity that comes there way.

Jack Terry · 8:22 PM

In other words, the superpowers today know as little about the Middle east as the superpowers at the end of World war I did.

Anthony Alberts · 8:23 PM

In a nutshell.

Anthony Alberts · 8:23 PM

That's all our time for today. I want to thank Jack for joining me as we talked about World War I, Iraq and the threat of ISIS.

Jack Terry · 8:24 PM

Always a pleasure to talk politics with you Tony. At least you know what you're talking about!

Anthony Alberts · 8:24 PM

Thanks Jack! See you soon.