Forewarned is Forearmed
War, terror, and pestilence have shaped our world for centuries, and the threats to peace are constantly evolving. It’s important that we educate ourselves in order to understand how these activities can affect our daily lives. This blog post will outline how war can affect populations, how terrorists orchestrate terror attacks, and what to do if you're caught up in a natural disaster.
##What is War?##
The term “war” covers a wide range of actions by organized armed forces of two or more countries in opposition to each other either on land or at sea. War may also involve direct attacks by aircraft or missiles, but this is less common (“Understand War” n.d.).
##Global Conflict and Aggression: A New Look at Old Challenges##
"The eight bloodiest years in history occurred during the first decade of the twenty-first century, a period that saw war deaths in the mid-six figures for each of six successive years. From January 2007 to December 2011, there were more than 220 armed conflicts in 139 countries, and another third of the globe was “persistently torn by violence” as ethnic, religious, or separatist insurgencies raged and civil wars loomed. During that same period the number of refugees rose to well over 50 million."
##Causes of War and Conflict##
The causes of war can be traced back centuries. Most wars are due to differences in religion, resources (land), power struggles or control over a particular territory. The types of weapons used have become increasingly sophisticated as time progresses leading to a decline in fatalities but an increase in injuries caused by weapon systems.
War and conflict have been a feature of human history since the first tribes fought, but the causes have changed over time. The earliest wars known to man were fought to gain or defend territories, goods, or people. Over time, the reasons for conflict broadened to include differences in religion, culture, language and ideologies. The causes of war and conflict vary across cultures and historical periods.
War has been a constant feature of humanity throughout recorded history with estimates as high as one hundred million human deaths resulting from conflicts between tribes or nations. About three percent of these deaths have occurred in the past century when one includes civil wars. The causes of war have also changed over time.
##Types of War##
There are many types or categories of war but there are some general categories:
Wars can be classified by the type of fighting force, the number and nature of participants, and the scale at which they operate. Causes for conflict are most commonly due to disputes between neighboring nations, differences in language and culture, or disagreements between groups or individuals within a nation.
A "war" is characterized by an aggressive policy that uses force as a weapons system to achieve political goals: domination on land (land warfare), sea (seaborne warfare), or air (air warfare). All wars involve a mixture of the three types of fighting mentioned above.
Tags:
Forewarned is Forearmed