The 1970s in Jamaica were a reflection of the Cold War playing out all over the world. South America, Central America, Europe, and the Caribbean were all involved in this tug-of-war between two world powers, each willing to do anything to maintain control of as much of the planet as they could.

This had devastating results for many places, including Vietnam, which lost two million people in the fiasco. Jamaica was regrettably also torn apart. Some will say it brought about much-needed change. Others will say that the change was not worth the rubble it left. I say it is when we learnt how to kill each other.

What we can all agree on is that in October 1980 Edward Seaga was the new prime minister of a country that had been destroyed. I had issues back then with a lot of what he did, in particular, taking away free education for university students. Now, in reflection 33 years later, it is still the cheapest quality education in North America and maybe he was right.

Well, he lost the election in 1989.

Did he lose because of his handling of the economy or his foreign policy? No. Did he lose because of his social policies? Well, there were none; we were virtually bankrupt and that certainly did not help, but that is not what ended him.

The Seaga-led Government lost in 1989 because of the inability to control gangsters, in particular Lester Lloyd Coke, otherwise called “Jim Brown”, who was the leader of Tivoli Gardens. Coke and his henchmen were powerful to a point that makes Tesha Miller and “Blackman” look like schoolboys.

The Tivoli gang was lawless. This was to the extent of dragging a bus driver out of the Coronation Market police post and shooting him dead on the steps. The public knew that the Government could not control them or protect us from them. So Seaga’s Government fell like a cedar tree.

I am a big believer in third terms. I think that is why the PJ Patterson era accomplished so much. They had time, and of course, a good man leading them. I think Mr Seaga deserved a third term and I am resentful that the country lost the benefits we could have gained because of a man like Jim Brown and his bunch of losers. I think good things were coming.

I was particularly excited to see what Bruce Golding would do as prime minister. I felt and still feel that he had his finger on the pulse of the country and was genuinely intending to do good things for us. But we lost him — again because of gangsters. Because he could not control them, and quite sensibly seemed to fear them. I do not blame him. There is, after all, no gang that has ever been as deadly as the Shower Posse in Tivoli Gardens. Well, at least when they are ambushing off-duty police and innocent civilians.

They did not look that great when the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) showed them how wars are really fought during the 2010 operation. That brought an end to a chapter of 40 years of gang domination. But I still think Golding could have done great things.

Fast-forward to this era. If the Andrew Holness Government falls in the next election, it will be because of — again — the inability to defeat the gangs. And I am not saying it is his fault because it is not. His hands are tied by the international community that holds the country’s purse like a ransom.

The magnitude of the problem and the minimal size of our armed forces to fight it; the guidelines of international human rights standards and local gang sympathisers; and the shortage of funds to hire, train and arm a 20,000-strong police force that is needed are all holding us back.

Do not get me wrong, if he is to go because of his economic policies, his foreign policy, political corruption, or his handling of the country’s purse, then I have no problem if that is the view of the public.

I might disagree or agree with them, but that is not the point. The point is that I do not want to lose one more leader because of gangsters. They are too unimportant to cost us even a night’s sleep, much less a Government.

But this is the weakness that will be at the centre of any campaign — crime and murder, fear of gang domination.

The irony is that most do not realise that we are not heading to unknown territory. We have been under gang domination before. In 1980, the gangs were untouchable, until the police units, like Operation Squad and Flying Squad defeated them.

In the 1990s, “Zeeks” ran downtown, Kingston to the point when he had to be put on a balcony by the police to address his masses. He runs a cage now.

In 2010, “Dudus” was king until the JDF-led operation ended that reign.

We keep on returning to where we were like an army charging a hill, winning and going back down to charge it again.

I like states of public emergency as they are being utilised, but in addition I want us to look at how we won before and do it again. And this time we should not stop doing it. Go back to the super squads, so that whilst the occupation maintains the peace, the cowards can be dug out of their holes by men with a purpose, who know they have the support of their country’s elected leader.

History is slowly repeating itself. There are, however, pleasant differences. Garrisons are no longer acceptable and this Government knows it. Contracts to gangs are not going to be tolerated by this press. There are no longer leaders marching in funeral processions with dead gunmen and live wannabees. This is progress.

Next step: move primary party leaders out of garrison seats. Start to appoint former military and police officers as even junior ministers in the Ministry of National Security. Start the cycle of logical thinking that has us picking governments because of the performance of our leaders, not the ‘cruff’ who claims to represent them. In other words, no more garrisons at all.

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