Opinions on wars?

[Lawrence]

War is quite useful sometimes - it prompted the end of Saddam Hussein's horrific regime, and, in reference to the original post, prompted the end of Hitler's even more horrific Third Reich. The only times when modern wars cause more harm than good is when those on the other side are religious extremists who realize that the war may kill them and consequently threaten the strict religious principles they stand for. Who will carry on their fundamentalism when they've been killed? The easiest answer is their children, and so they continue to distill in them an immense hatred for the forces that threaten to destroy their religion. That is why ISIS is a problem for us today - they seek revenge for the 2003 invasion. I can almost go so far as saying that war isn't the problem - religious fundamentalism is.

Wars are exclusively made for profit these days. Probably a few hundred years ago, they had founded reasons to occur, but now... the continuous blood shedding is exclusively happening because money is taking our mind away.

None of the wars taking place right now is for money. Most of the fighting happening today is happening in order to allow Western women to keep walking around without a hijab if they so desire, and not get acid in their faces if caught without it.

 

[arthnel]

War is inevitable, just not always justified. Many dynamics come together just for the end result being violent conflict poised at tearing countries and people apart. I'm sure the effort put into avoiding or preventing wars is at least 10 times the effort to start the process of moving troops and artillery to put an invasion into effect. Starting a war seems to be the easiest way to put a foot down and get people to do your will.

This war being staged by ISIS and against ISIS is one of the most unjustified and confusing wars in ancient and modern history. It's a war set to make a point as many radical persons wanted to avenge the invasion of Iraq, as said before @Lawrence. It's a war that can potentially pit Muslims against Christians. It's message and purpose are seemingly horrific, while at the same time attractive enough to help in recruiting many smart professionals worldwide. None of this can justify what's happening to men, women and children in Syria and all over who don't even know how their countries civil war over Assad got infected in the first place.

 

[rz3300]

Well it certainly depends on who you ask. I have a vivid memory of my history teacher in high school telling us that war is good, and he justified it by citing data that showed that it is a productive force for the national economy, and I was stunned that anyone would ever think like that. He was an economist, though, and for him it made sense. If you are a human rights advocate you will think much differently. I think we all can agree is that it is a harsh reality that is not going away.

 

[davidjon]

Man's natural state is to be at war. Just because you live in a "peaceful" country doesn't mean that various different entities aren't still having to fight every day to keep that country stable.

A war-less world has never, and will never, be in existence. Those societies and people's that accept this fact are usually the ones to triumph. Those who deny it will perish. Look at Europe: Islam has conquered more of that land in the last 50 years than it did in the last 1500 years. Why? Because Europe is weak, and will not fight. It enjoys a false peace that will soon come to an end. Then it will have to fight, only with more blood lost and more land gone. War indeed!

 

[djdefense]

Everyone roots for war when something horrible like a terrorist attack happens, but when the coffins start rolling in, the mindset changes. Conventional armies are rarely going to fight conventional wars anymore. Terrorism is the only enemy and it has no face, no name and no specific location.
Its like that CIA officer in charge of Afghanistan and later Iraq operations said - "The only thing the US had to do after 9/11 was secure the cockpits just like the Israelis did. Not a single young man would have to go into a hostile country and die in a meaningless conflict against a faceless enemy."

 

[explorerx7]

The display of might over right has always been a characteristic of human nature. It started from the beginning of time and will continue forever. We have read of the many infamous plunderers and looters, the religious fanatics, who believed that they had a the right to control the movements and the thinking of others of and declared war on them if they did not comply.
Those possessing the power have always to a great extent, been able to call the shots even in the face of resistance.
The greater concern now, however, is the addition of conventional weapons to the process, like ballistic missiles, germ warfare etc., which adds the fear of greater annihilation.

 

[djdefense]

That's an interesting take on the issue. Instead of learning from wars, we always seem to be hell bent on repeating history.

 

[silentwarfare]

I don't see Germany as a winner after losing the war. Angela Merckel is literally destroying the country and they've had a questionable government ever since the restructuring happened. War is necessary because of the nature of people, the population on this planet, and the need to get things done when no other options are available. Soldiers and standing armies exist as a means of protection, not a means of provocation. They can and have been used that way, but that's only when the people doing it have no other option to get what they want. People live and die for resources every day. Some faster, some slower. People sell their lives to a 9 to 5 job, living a life they wish had excitement and action they will never see. For people in the miitary, they get to have the chance at that even at the risk of death to be an honor to serving their country and to have the right to live more than they die. That's why people are in the military, and why wars exist even though they can be painful or deadly with horrible losses on the battlefield. Modern countries have tried to prevent and limit the casualties as much as they can, so you don't see as much infantry casualties when the military deploys to a region in modern countries. The most heavy casualties you see now are in Syria and Gaza, and before that Fallujah, Qatar, and other regions during the 1990's. A lot has changed, but a lot stays the same even when you install bases out there to regulate it.