History

It seems to me that more and more people in our society believe that war is never justified.  Books like My Brother Sam is Dead even call into question whether the War for Independence was justified.  I think this is a naive view.  As a student of history, it is apparent to me that there have been leaders and rulers in history who were simply evil and there are causes that are simply right.  Slavery in the United States was wrong, and it is too bad that our country had to suffer terribly from the Civil War, but if that is what it took to end slavery, that is what it took.  Adolf Hitler was evil.  He killed millions of people for nothing but their race.  Neville Chamberlain tried negotiation with him, but Hitler broke the pact as soon as it was convenient.  Evil people do not keep their promises. They say one thing and do another.  How can we negotiate or compromise with someone who does not keep their word.

There are still some things worth dying for and things like the freedom to worship as we choose, the right to a fair trial before imprisonment, the right of people to live in safety without constant fear, the right of women to be treated as humans not animals.  These are things worth fighting and even dying for.

If we could all agree...all humanity...that war is not justified, then there would be no need for it.  We could all just meet in the town square over coffee and settle our differences.  Or, like Lysistrata, just cut off the physical pleasure until the soldiers agreed to come home for good.  However, since all humans aren't wired the same way and opinions will always differ, we will never get away from violence as a way to settle differences and regain a balanced peace.  Your examples of Hitler and slavery as well as Hussein, and countless others we can name will always be present.  Greedy, power-hungry, evil people will always crop up.  Lord, the Antichrist is foretold to come soon.  I hope we can all find the backbone to fight against him when he shows his ugly face.

Call me a cynic, but the chances of all humanity gathering together to form a great pact ending all fighting is slim to none. It used to be, years ago, that wars were suspended during the time of the olympics. But such days are past.

We live in an age where war is not only justifiable, but necessary. The forces of evil that conspire against our freedom daily are numerous and powerful. If ever there were a time to break some eggs and make an omelette (metaphor), today is that day.

It is naive indeed to believe that if we all would just put down our weapons, the other side would quit fighting. Perhaps in the drug-induced fairy tale world of the hippies, such an option was available. In today's world, however, it's best to stick to our guns, both literally and figuratively. 

Many books have been written on this subject, and I don't think we'll ever have a final answer to the question. It's easy to say in hindsight that it was a mistake to become involved in a war, but in the heat of the moment, it is easy to understand why we went to war. When we watched the statue of Saddam Hussein being pulled down by the Iraqis, we all cheered. Several years later, however, we've forgotten that passion and are calling it all a huge mistake. To quote a very wise man: "There will always be wars and rumors of wars."

In reply to #4: We may never have an answer, but in response to your statement about Saddam Hussein, there are those of us who still cheer that a tyrant was pulled down - whatever problems there are in Iraq now, it was not a mistake to end his reign of tyranny.  Isn't your quotation biblical?

In reply to #5: I don't believe you can separate the two. Taking down the tyrant cannot be divorced from the chaos, mismanagement, and loss of life that followed-- ironically more loss of life then occured during Huessein's reign.

Invading a sovreign state that had not attacked is something the Communists and Nazis used to do, it's not something I ever thought America would engage in. 

The tyrant needed to fall, obviously, but at the hands of his own people, not an outside force. Saying "at least some good came out of it" is to make a mockery of the suffering the invasion caused for the very people being saved.