WK3AUU,

I referred to the Taliban in Afghanistan offering "salvation". I should have said instead that the Taliban offer many of the illiterate Afhgans a sense of order that they recognise. The sense of order offered by the coalition forces there, or by the Russians before that, simply does not resonate with them at all.

Istvan

‘If you want peace, it is worth trying to understand what causes wars.’

For every war in history, there have been billions of words written and spoken in an effort to understand what particular set of political, historical and social circumstances led to that war. However, all these analyses do nothing to prevent wars from happening.

No matter what the particular situation is that gives rise to wars – whether it be Darfur, the Peloponnesian War or the gangs of Melbourne’s Underbelly, the underlying cultural dynamics are virtually the same.

Kactuz

‘I am sure that after a 5 minute lecture [the people of Darfur] would turn around and go back, feeling good that the warm milk of radiated human kindness has finally thawed the frozen recesses of their cold, ignorant, lost and misunderstood hearts.’

Perhaps not after 5 minutes – 5 generations maybe. That's too late for the people dying now, but not for a future world.

Istvan, re your last statement, I could not agree with you more. Instead of fighting with them, we should just be asking what we might do to help them do what they want to improve the lot of their fellows.

Isn't it strange (possibly not) that the Yanks thought they were good fellows when the were trying to get the Russians out of the country, even to the extent of supplying them with arms in exchange for buying opium.

David

Kactuz,

Talking to the Janjaweed is like trying to teach someone calculus when they just learnt how to add up with their fingers.

We tend to confuse what is an opinion and what is a hypothesis. For example. Everyone has an opinion on global warming. Some think it is over-hyped, others think that it is more serious than we admit. A scientist will probably collect hundreds or more information about sea temperatures, ice flows, Sun spots, the axis of our globe, ice cores, and so on. On the basis of all the information the scientist will form a hypothesis, which will be tested.

Another example is that of a dentist whom you may know socially. He or she will express lots of interesting opinions on various things. You would certainly not pay that dentist for the opinions. However, if that dentist comments on the condition of your teeth, you will willingly pay because you respect all the accumulated knowledge. (Which is, basically a hypothesis.)

We have analysed the causes of war to death...and we should pass on to analysing what prevents wars. A simplistic but true cause of wars is that governments choose war over other other solutions to conflict. In the case of the Vietnam war, Britain was invited to join the USA, Australia and NZ into the muddy killing fields but Prime minister Wilson simply decided not to join in and Britain didn't because he made that personal decision.

We like to think the USA went after Saddam for oil and to finish unfinished business and to destroy the country so US companies can re-build it and therefore stimulate the US economy. Probably all motives for the war, but why didn't the USA spend the allocation of war dollars on helping Saddam thereby building the Iraq economy and making a lasting peace that way, circumventing the whole sorry mess?

Humans get paranoid, grandiose and violent. There is a history of outbreaks of war for no other reason than a failure to manage the economy of the a country leading to economic depression, probably the cause of the second world war in Europe. Why does war have to be the inevitable outcome?

Why can't leaders say no to war?

Why don't leaders - governments learn from their mistakes?

How can we stop our leaders making war on us and other countries?

The Australian Government is currently conducting a war in Iraq, Afghanistan and against drug addicts. When will they stop this violent behaviour? What are the alternatives

Barfenzie,

You are absolutely right about the "failure to manage the economy of a country leading to economic depression" and to possibly leading to war.

You are also correct about some leaders, especially in totalitarian countries, developing a grotesque sense of self-importance. However, we should not beleive everything the media portrays as true. The influence of those paranoid leaders have greatly diminished, to almost insignificance, on the world stage. (Their influence on their own people is another matter.)