War is a situation that engages a fight between two or more participants, which can be individuals, groups or nations, for a period of time. War may end up with destruction whose magnitude depends on the type of fights, the weapons involved and the time period the war takes. Any war has causes that the fight aims at solving. However, the reason for any war is not a mutually exclusive aim for the participants. Therefore, despite of the destruction that war brings, the attainment of the objectives of either of the participating sides seems to satisfy their feelings. This develops an argument that is in existence since the beginning of World War I, whether war is beneficial or non-beneficial. This brought about this debate, war is a necessary evil.
According to Karl von Clausewitz in his book “On War,” war is the continuation of peace policy with means of using force. He argues that the political stands of a country should continue to exist during the war because the insecurity that rises during the wartime is another form of reaction to the situation. He insists on regarding war composed of separate campaigns with linked engagements, one leading to the other (Alexander & Marsha 2003). If this is ignored, then the war engagement may ultimately lead to only disadvantages. War is immeasurable, but only exists in magnitudes. It has varying scales with the participants striving with their physical forces against each other with the aims of throwing the adversary. The defeated will be rendered incapable of resisting. Therefore, in war is a situation to set a compulsory surrender of the enemy with disarmament. War involves the use of skills and equipment that suits the participants at a particular time of the fight.
Arguments and debates over war as a necessary evil traces its ways from long time ago, World War I where the crisis started by hitting Central Europe in 1914. The war came following a long series of clashes between Italy, Austria-Hungarian Empire, France, Germany, the British Empire and Russia. The clashes were over European balance in the power. The war tension became highest out of the Balkan territory and great power between Austria-Hungary and Russia. The winners in the war credited the war to their take over of the territory. Despite the destruction that included life and property losses (the evil part), they fulfilled their mission (necessity).
Another incident that raises such arguments is the war that went over in Libya last year
The wars in Libya rose as a result of the people’s desire for democracy under his ruling, Muammar Gadaffi. The Libyan people went through the war, with a necessity to democracy in their state. The war saw the civilians suffer deaths and encounter the many towns’ bombings (the evil) with a hope for democracy in their ruling. The international coalitions with the lead of NATO left a bloodshed in the West African country, but winning at the end of the war. The killing of Muammar Gadaffi and the fall of his governance was the long awaited war necessity by the Libyans and the whole international community.
The views in the debate on the holocaust suffering by the Jews under the leadership of Adolf Hitler ascribe the base of the debate, Is War a necessary Evil? It is certain that the beneficiaries of the war (including Hitler) would find it necessary. The evil the war carried is the mass destruction of Jews. The evil of the war is that the holocaust claimed about six million lives. A consideration of the slavery abolition in the northern states is also a ground base for the debate on war, a necessary evil. In late 18th and 19th century, enlighten against slavery shore light following human sentiments. This was the time when Jean Rousseau started spreading enlightening against slavery in the course of democracy upsurge. The revolution war against the slave trade hit trade following enlighten. It was also the enlighten that caused the fight for independence in Haiti state. This was the time slave trade was on the course in the United States.
This essay discusses the debate that lies in the minds of many scholars and philosophers across the world. The debate, War a Necessary Evil, has had controversial issues of social consequences. A rise in a fight has objectives in the minds of the participants. For instance, an enemy with an aim to capture another party’s property would wish to benefit form the capture, while the opponent would be to resist the capture for their own good. As war happen leaving destructions, the winner always feels the necessity of the fight. Therefore, this essay predicted and supported that it is truth worth that war is a necessary evil.
The sources of information in this essay were reliable enough
They were relevant to my area of study, stating the historical perspectives on my topic, War, a Necessary Evil. The sources verified earlier findings and researches on the topic. The essay used secondary materials for information sources. The sources consisted of journals, books, reviews on articles, and former writings on the debate topic on the internet. The sources contained references and enabled me to read further on their writings. The sources had reviews with criticisms and support from various researchers. The reviews ensured accuracy hence kept my credibility with the sources.
The internet source on a topic ‘Evaluating Web Resources’ by Jan Alexander and Marsha Ann Tala of April 2003 has several links to Garfield library, student classes, professors, institutional researchers, government sources and other further readings. The source has citations in text, footnotes, endnotes for clarity and follow up on new words and further explanations. The publishers of the work, Mc-Graw –Hill, and the scrutiny he discussed in the traditional styling methods reviews, all proved the credibility of the work.
The debate, Is War a Necessary Evil, is taking new phase each day
The continuing incidences in wars among the undemocratic nations, especially in Africa, are a contribution to the debate. Consideration of the last year’s wars on Libya against then president Muammar Gaddafi is a good example in this debate. Muammar Gaddafi ruled with violence of human rights and with undemocratic dictatorship. The followed Libyans demonstrations did not earn them any good but instead, it saw them the Gaddafi soldiers beat them up in the streets. The Libyans did not give up with the fights with hopes for a future, democratic Libya (Finkelman, 2006). In fact, the demonstrations now are looked at, as the ones to bring transformations in the Arab world.
The war in the name of ‘Protecting Civilians’ left much destructions in the country as a follow up of the people’s rights and humanity from the ‘greedy’ president, Muammar Gadaffi. With all measures underlain, it is a story of unique account. The coalitions of the international community against the rigid Muammar Gaddafi earned him death at the end of the day. Security Council resolutions authorized all that it pertained to ensure the safety and democracy of the Libyans. The whole of the story is aimed at the fulfillment of the desires of the people of Libya and the international community. This is the ‘necessity’ in the debate ‘War is a Necessary Evil.’
The war earned Muammar Gaddafi death. While he thought he would please the west at the expense of the public at home, he never knew of the rage he was cultivating in the people. In 1996, his actions against religious practices left some 1,270 prisoners killed at Tripoli’s Abu Salim jail. The situation led to a reversal of American foreign policy to help the Islamists finish Gaddafi. Rodan (2011) writes ‘as days pass by, it remains apparent that assistance the US and NATO give Islamic Imperialists aims at doing away with Col. Muammar Gaddafi.’ Gaddafi was a vocal against the interests of imperial power of the people of the independent Libya, and Africa as whole.
Gadaffi kept Islamic religion far away from politics. He seemed to follow the modern philosophy of governance. This earned him a death price, which is termed as a necessity of the war in this debate, while the people earned the initially denied dignity. Despite the participation, of the international community in the war, the victory of the results belongs to the Libyans.
Consideration of the United States about war in Iraq has significant contributions to the debate: War is a Necessary Evil. The military action for America against the stringent and persistent Iraq under the presidency of Saddam Hussein served the whole world with peace against terrorism. The argument that tried to oppose the fact of American war in Iraq, suggested for containment that did not work for over ten years. The weapons of mass destruction (WMD) of Iraq risked the security of United States. This convinced the United States on links of Iraq with the Al Qaeda terrorists under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. The decision of the United States to change the insecurity regime in Iraq was to destroy the WMD capabilities of Iraq. The effort of United States to curb the menace by containment was failing, hence the plans on war. The plans included elimination of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden (Hammond, John & Matthew, 2011).
The allegations that turned out to be true that Al Qaeda terrorists were in Iraq pushed United States for war in Iraq. Iraq had planned to use the WMD weapons in favor of their terrorism across the world. The need for security improvement was the cause of the American war in Iraq. The combination of WMD weapons and the Al-Qaeda posed insecurity cases across the world including the 1998 Kenyan bombing. It cost the United States political and strategic expertise to clear the foreseen mess, for the well-being of the whole world – the necessity of the American war in Iraq.
Most supporters of the war strategies strongly debated on the decisions. Influential Senators and Congressmen in the United States supported the war plans against Iraq. They argued that the US president had a right to initiate war in Iraq. They had no doubts in the president over the war declaration to safeguard the endangered US national security from Iraq with its WMD weapons and association with Al-Qaeda. However, the support, which involved both the Republicans and the Democrats, suggested a move on war in Iraq with consultations from the United Nations.
The international support for the Kenyan war against the Somalia’s Al-Shabaab today is support for the debate. The war is the base on fight for peace and security I, the Kenyan territory and the boundaries. The Al-Shabaab attacked the Kenyan coast infringing fear into the people of Kenya and their tourists. The attacks were significant, leading to the tourism sector hinge. The illegal terrorism Al-Shabaab group in Somalia was interfering with international trade through capture and seizure of the ships in the Indian Ocean (Mohammed, 2012). The activities of the Al-Shabaab posed a security crisis, not only to Kenya, but also to the states that use the Indian Ocean for either trade or any other economic activity around and in the Indian Ocean. This became an issue to the Kenyan government and since Somalia had no central government, Kenya as a state had only alternative of declaring war against the Al-Shabaab.
The United Nations is currently supporting the war as a ‘necessity’ to the whole of East and central region. In fact, United States of America is today giving in help on attack of the Al-Shabaab group. The whole world is for the mission for the well-being of the many innocent people that suffered attacks by Al-Shabaab. Although Al-Shabaab is trying to resist by organizing abrupt grenade attacks in Kenya as revenge, the planned war with them is bearing fruits. The notorious illegal group was a stumbling block to the formation of central government in Somalia. This is evident from the re-engineered progress in Somalia after the Kenya war began against the group.
There exist arguments against the debate in war – a necessary evil
Criticisms are evolving around the world on situations where countries are deciding on war as the best alternative to bring the necessity it requires. The war in Libya last year came with other undesired destructions. Common people paid prices beyond articulation during the war on Muammar Gadaffi. Libya witnessed more of the NATO destructions than the Gaddafi government itself. The destruction left over 50,000 people killed in the conflict as per the National Transitional Council of Libya. The NATO operations in Libya scheduled over 25,000 sorties leaving more than 9,500 hitting the targets. The NATO bombings were beyond the aim of protecting the Libyans. The bombings hit the whole of the country in search for the colonel Gadaffi.
In Benghazi, the west passed the United Nations 1973 resolution to punish Gaddafi. This finally led to his death with severe destructions at his place of birth, Sirte. Gaddafi’s ouster left Sirte, which once had ‘brilliant look of hospitals and university, with a shinning entrance and a conference centre that hosted world leaders,’ is now ‘a squalid ruin.’ (The BritishTelegraph, 15 Oct 2011). Despite the war’s good intention, it brought misery and suffering the Libyans. The deaths and destructions experienced were out of the intention of the war. All these effects sum up to the ‘evil’ in the war.
Regarding the United States war in Iraq, the debate decisions on the way forward was not justified. The United States had not proved that Iraq hosted the Al Qaeda terrorists and that they had plans to attack America. Questions lingered over the legality of United States proceeding war against Iraq under international law. This would drive wrong implications over the precedents of international law. The United States war necessity did not inspire confidence on installation of peace back to Iraq after the war. The war would bear significant implications on minorities in Iraq. After the war, the minorities would not participate in the Iraq elections as part of the country. The United States War against Iraq destroyed infrastructure through bombings, and rebuilding in the post Saddam phase would be a huge cost to the US. This is also an ‘evil’ face of the war in this debate.
I am of the view that war is indeed a necessary evil. I feel that some conflicts exist and cannot be resolved any other way. The situations that fall in support for war a necessary evil puts the participants at a critical moment of no or little range of options. Lack of other option apart from going to war using force, would do to restore the security and well-being of the affected party. This especially applies in cases of rights infringement against the allies.
For instance, the Battle of the Passchendaele in Ypres City, Belgium in 1917 that left numbers of deaths and casualties for both the allies and the enemies running into thousands. The battle that started in July 31, 1917, and continued to early 1918, involved war between Canadian Soldiers (allies) and German Soldiers (enemies) who had captured the Passchendaele Ridges. The enemies forcefully captured the Passchendaele Ridges located in the land of importance to the City of Ypres, and wanted to remain the occupants of the City. The war was the most horrific, with death or casualty numbers of 260,000 and 15,000 for the enemies and the allies respectively. This happened at the time the First World War is in its course leading to a hard shudder across the world. Despite the destructions and losses experienced, the win in the war by the allies (Canadian soldiers) satisfied the necessity of the war against the intruders (Subhash, 2002).
The debate is true for the necessity of the war. A situation that leaves the involved party with war as a last resort to clear a conflict embraces war itself. The incidence of the United States and Iraq over the use of unlawful nuclear weapons, and Iraq’s threats to attack US through Al-Qaeda, gave the US an option of war declaration. If US would not use war, the necessity part of the argument, then it would suffer the Iraq’s attacks. A violent group is best stopped with violet reactions, despite the consequences. This event clearly draws to the importance of the war in a way to protect oneself.
The events of slavery abortion in the USA that led to differences in the opinion between the north and the south escalated to wars as the best way to resolve the matter. The win by the northern states finally embraced the abolition that had caused the war. War as a necessary evil shore light to the southern states to relegate into the abolition system, despite leaving several deaths like that of Lovejoy, in 1837. Such are the arguments in the debate that moved me to the position of support of war, a necessary evil. This is with the reasons tat in every situation that left the war participants with the only option of war; it resulted to a fruitful end (The Canadian Journal, 2005).
The opposing side of the debate bases argument on the immediate results of the war
The war sufferings face the whole group with no exceptions of the innocent. The USA declaration to engage has war in Iraq led to several deaths of the innocent people through the bombings to stop the terrorism by Iraq and the Al-Qaeda. There are also arguments that USA used war as a political tool to gain influence in the Middle East. The aftermath of the war of USA in Iraq is undesirable, with several soldiers crippled during the war. War breeds destruction to mankind infrastructure and the environment. The environmental destruction during war ranges from air pollution to deforestation.
I feel such arguments are for the short-term and immediate effects with a blindfold of the future. The reasons for opposing war; a necessary evil, are true, but have their nature only in the short-term perspective of development, peace and democracy as it pertains the social consequences. This essay described the views on the debate: War a necessary evil. The discussions and examples defend my stand for the debate. The essay results answers my predicted thesis that indeed, war is a necessary evil.