War, What is it Good For?

Turn on the news any given moment and you're bound to be flooded with reports on the current situation of various wars playing out around our World. But what is a war to begin with? How does the slaughter of other individuals help solve World affairs?

I could tell you the dictionary.com definition of war (an open, armed, often prolonged conflict between nations, states, or parties), but what good does that do? Every war is different, and yet most wars are the same. Some wars are for conquest, while others are for a certain idea, while still others are there to prove the might of a nation for political reasons. World War I and II were wars of conquest, about gaining territory for political motivations. The Korean and Vietnam Wars were between the ideologies of Capitalism over Communism. You get the picture. Clearly there are types of wars that I've left out, but I'm only 17.

You might be saying, sure Sir Knightly (S.K.), but what about the Israeli-Palestinian-Hezbollah conflict? Many people tend to think on the smaller scale of the war, and by many people I mean most Americans.

The common thought in America is "those terrorist bastards have no right to invade Israel and kidnap soldiers." President Bush himself has this running belief that by instituting Democracies in the Middle East, that 10,000 years of hatred can be healed in a few months. This is why the President has a 33% approval rating.

The Israeli Conflict

The Israeli conflict has its roots seated in the Exodus lead by Moses between 1400-1200 B.C.(E) The Hebrews (the Jewish people of the day) had been enslaved by Egypt's Pharoahs and the Exodus represented their return to their God given homeland, which according to the Old Testament of the Bible, is Israel. Upon their arrival to their homeland, at the time called Canaan, the land was already occupied by the Phoenicians and Amorites, along with some small Hebrew settlements. Slowly, the Hebrews gained a foothold in the region, and under the rule of King David, a temple was built to honor God, or Yahweh, in Jerusalem. This is why the region is holy to the Jews.

Then Roman emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Jerusalem in 49 AD. This was followed by persecution of both Jews and Christians, who were perceived as threats to the Roman Empire. In the year 66 AD, rioting and violence spread throughout Jerusalem and the rest of Judea, and within less then a century, Judea had become Palestine, and Jews were all but gone from their homeland.

(Please forgive me for the next part if some of the information is inaccurate)

When Islam began to emerge in the 6th Century, the Prophet Muhammad made his way to Jerusalem where he ascended to heaven, accompanied by the angel Gabriel and consulted with Moses and obtained the Islamic prayers before returning to Earth. At the location where he is believed to have ascended to heaven, the Dome of the Rock, the third holiest site in Islam, was built. It stands on top of the Temple Mount (where the Jewish temple used to stand before it was destroyed after their expulsion from the Jerusalem.)

In more recent times, Zionism took hold in Jewish communities in an attempt to recapture their homeland. They began a series of 5 Aliyah's, or migrations to Palestine. The eventual plan was to gain majority and take control of the Palestinian. Plans changed in 1948 when President Truman urged a vote in the U.N. to create the state of Israel. Truman threatened to cut off aid to European allies recovering from WWII if they did not vote in favor of Israel's creation. So when you hear Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the U.S. of being Zionist, he does have a point.

In Conclusion

The current conflict, which threatens to include Iran and Syria, is based on this highly disputed piece of land, held holy to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The U.S. holds the key to a successful ceasefire, however due to selfish reasons, the Bush Administration does not want an immediate ceasefire. It is to their benefit if Israel pounds the living crap out of Hezbollah, no matter who gets in the way. Or, it could be that President Bush knows nothing about Middle Eastern history and still believes an immediate sustainable ceasefire is possible in the Cradle of Humanity.