What are your veiws on War vs Peace?

I have spent the last few years listening to those that advocate peace above all else. As a veteran of both gulf wars and the cold war (wasn't so cold where I was), I am shocked by the naivety of my fellow Americans.

1. War isn't the worst thing on earth. War is a necessary part of our existence. Most of our greatest achievements came from war. Food preservation,Commercial refrigeration (developed to keep food for troops over long distances), Flight (considered a hobby until somebody figured out that you could drop bombs on people, then flight development began to get funding), and most of our medical advances (to treat war wounded) including ambulances and transplant surgery. The space program, that rapid aid to refugees from natural disasters, and our highway system were all developed in response to war or for our military.

2. Some groups of people will NEVER embrace our point of view because it conflicts with their point of view. Japan NEEDED to take China for their agenda, the fact that WE wanted to exploit china meant that there could be no compromise. Thus we had WWII (nobody knew about the holocaust in Europe until after the war). War is a legitimate part of our diplomacy tool box.

3. As a member of the U.S. military it was my job to go to war. Saying you want peace to save military personnel is like saying let a building burn to save fire fighters (which is what I do now).

4. ALL wars are about making rich people richer and our fought by the poor. The revolutionary war, civil war, world war I and II, Vietnam, and yes the gulf wars were about money. (Revolutionary war to save rich land owners from paying taxes, civil war about advancing interest in the north and usurping the cheap labor of the freed slaves, word war I and II about controlling the economies in europe and the far east, Vietnam was about the Rubber plantations left by the french, gulf wars were about oil).



So you that sit at home and don't fight these wars, other than a political talking point, what exactly is your objection to war, more people died in Detroit today than Afghanistan and Iraq all month.



I ask this question knowing I am going to get bashed, but I was bored and actually love hearing opposing opinions.What are your veiws on War vs Peace?
To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war.

鈥揥inston Churchill



Churchill was a warrior of some note, but valued an attempt to avoid war. Peace is preferable. The problem is, not everyone is willing to negotiate in good faith.



I believe it is peace in our time.

鈥揘eville Chamberlain



That didn鈥檛 work out so well. Adolph Hitler wanted to conquer and occupy the countries around Germany, and to him negotiations were a means to an end and agreements reached would be ignored at Germany鈥檚 convenience.



As desirable as peace is, it is simply not always obtainable in a world of people that think they can get what they want by violence. One of the most peaceful nations in Europe is Switzerland. They are armed to the teeth and have made it clear that they are willing to fight anyone who violates their boarders. Neighboring countries believe them because they are not bluffing.



Heavily armed strong countries willing to fight if challenged tend to have a greater shot at peace then ambiguous countries, no matter how well armed, that enemies think they can attack with little danger of retaliation. Bill Clinton tried to ignore a rising series of violent acts against the US with half measures and rhetoric. What it got us in the end was 9/11. Al-Qaida and the Taliban were shocked when George Bush took decisive action after the Twin Towers came down.



Those that would have peace at any price are not going to get peace. They are going to be victims of aggressive elements in society that do not respect the desire for peace.
Peace isn't the absence of war, it is the presence of justice. I'll go to war with heaven itself to find peace.What are your veiws on War vs Peace?
Peace isn't easy to keep. And when it's threatened. Time to start a war!!!!
War is hell, peace is heavenly...
1) War being a spur to scientific development is not an excuse. It is a redeeming feature, which comes at incredible cost. Yes, cost. The reason that those developments happened was that R%26amp;D was given a blank cheque in order to win the war. Not because bullets were flying hundreds of miles away.



2) The very same thing could have been said about Europe in the 50s. Part of Europe was fascist (Spain, Portugal) part of Europe was democratic (UK, France, West Germany) and part of Europe was communist (Poland, East Germany). These three ideologies were totally and utterly incompatible. And yet without a shot being fired the differences have now been resolved to a point where another war in Europe is totally unthinkable.



3) Your job is not to go to war. Your job is to do what you are ordered. If you are ordered (as a large proportion of the military are) to sit around a cushty base in Germany, Korea or Japan then you will do it. You're not fighting. You're not even defending unless you're near the DMZ.



4) Which is why we shouldn't have them. The rich are quite rich enough without having to sacrifice the youth of a nation for their blood money.



If more people died in Detroit today than in Afghanistan and Iraq all month - why the hell are you not sorting out Detroit? They are AMERICAN CITIZENS. They VOTE FOR THE GOVERNMENT. And yet the government (dem and rep) have abandoned them.
War is the worst thing on earth because it causes death and disfigurement. If you have ever lost a loved one you know that there is nothing worse than that. War is sometimes necessary however, to prevent death on a larger scale and to prevent total control over the people.
"war is not the answer" as the billboards say.

However, it all depends upon the question.

Showing strength and having strength are very important to keeping peace. Some of the biggest casualty and death counts in all the wars in Western Civilization in this century and the past are owing chiefly to one side showing "peace at any cost" to another side that wanted to force their will.

If the school bully thinks you'll fight back, you get left alone. If he doesn't---expect a lot of wedgies.



Human nature.
Dave...you are dead on. I would add two points that I think you would agree with.



5. If we truly wanted to avoid war, we would fight a war with enough force to make other countries know that we are not messing around in any way. The "Shock and Awe" as it was called starting off the Iraq war was too short lived and should not have stopped until they surrendered. Peace through superior fire power and an understanding that we are NOT going to roll over for terrorists, etc.



6. The most absurd thing about wars is that we blow the hell out of a country and then rebuild it. What in the hell are we doing rebuilding any country. That is stupidity at its highest level.
Fairly well stated.

In the cold hard reality of, well...reality, to not prepare for war is to invite it. Force is the ONLY thing that some people understand, no matter how much you or I may "wish" it to be otherwise. Wouldn't it be a great thing if we could all get along and the world was not a zero sum equation in terms of wealth and resources? Yes it would be, but it's NOT.

War is the pursuit of national policy by other means, (Karl Von Clausewitz {loosely}). You don't have to be a war monger to realize that others are, and that merely being "nice' to them will not change their attitudes.

If you want perfection, don't look at humans on earth, save it for Val Halla, Heaven, or Nirvana. John Lenon "Imagined" a world of peace. But listen to his lyrics. It was an unrealistic world full of indulgence and free of responsibility or devotion to anything but ones self at that moment. That's the stuff of children's books. There will always be forest fires, floods, animals that want to eat you, and violent human conflict (war).