Is war necessary?

War does not determine who is right - only who is left. Bertrand Russell

War brings death and destruction, disease and starvation, poverty, and ruin in its wake. One has only to look back to the havoc that was wrought in various countries not many years ago, in order to estimate the destructive effects of war. A particularly disturbing side of modern wars is that they tend to become global so that they may engulf the entire world. But there are people who consider war as something grand and heroic and regard it as something that bring out the best in man, but this does not in any way alter the fact that war is a terrible, dreadful calamity. This is especially so now that a war will now be fought with atom bombs.

A war cannot achieve what peace can. The forces of peace can rule over ignorance and superstition, over illiteracy and immorality, over disease and physical suffering, over poverty and governmental oppression. The conquests of peace are non­violent and bloodless. They cause no grief to humanity and do not damage life or property.

War causes streams of blood and untold havoc. Only the victories of peace leave no maimed limbs or mutilated bodies, no ruined cities or scorched fields.
Even a superficial glance at the course of the two world wars will tell us that their victories were gained at an incalculable cost

World War I casualties

The total number of military and civilian casualties in World war I was over 37 million. There were over 16 million deaths and 20 million wounded ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history.

The total number of deaths includes about 10 million military personnel and about 7 million civilians. The Entente Powers (also known as the Allies) lost about 6 million soldiers while the Central Powers lost about 4 million. At least 2 million died from diseases and 6 million went missing, presumed dead.

About two-thirds of military deaths in World War I were in battle, unlike the conflicts that took place in the 19th century when the majority of deaths were due to disease. Improvements in medicine as well as the increased lethality of military weaponry were both factors in this development. Nevertheless disease, including the Spanish flu, still caused about one third of total military deaths for all belligerents.

World War II casualties

World War II was the deadliest military conflict. Over 60 million people were killed, which was over 2.5% of the world population. Civilians killed totalled from 38 to 55 million, including 13 to 20 million from war-related diseases and famine. Total military dead: from 22 to 25 million, including deaths in captivity of about 5 million prisoners of war.

 Peace vs War image