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"I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center." - Kurt Vonnegut

I just registered with this website so im a little late to the topic, not sure if anyone said this bc i wasn't gonna read through 21 pages of posts but I believe Israel to be the biggest threat to world peace.

The entire conflict in the middle east boils down to America trying to protect Israel. Israel may not be the "war monger" that America is but in reality, it is the cause of all these headline news wars.

while i agree our relationship with israel is a major part of the problem it is not the only major component of the problem.

• U.S. support for Israel that keeps Palestinians in the Israelis' thrall
• U.S and other Western troops on the Arabian peninsula
• U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan
• U.S. support for Russia, India, and China against their Muslim militants
• U.S. pressure on Arab energy producers to keep oil prices low
• U.S. support for apostate, corrupt, and often tyrannical Muslim governments

for more...

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EDUCATION, n.
That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding ~ A. Bierce

Yes, you do have a point, but if you go back to the root of almost all those problems, the very beginning of the Arabs vs Americans mentallity, you will find Israel at the source.

your last six points are all products of Americans having to fight Arabs because of Arabs attacking America or its allies bc of suport for Israel, thus again Israel being the source of the conflict... the way I worded it is a little weird so if you dont know what im saying ill elaborate...

Just wrong. The US Navy was formed to fight Barbary prates. . .they were muslim.

I'd much rather be called a war monger then to bow down or force allies to bow down to these states. Only Turkey can be called a real Muslim state worthy of praise so far, there are others working on it, but still only Turkey so far.

Reasons to avoid war

There are many good reasons to avoid war - in this context used to include extensive conflicts involving physical violence within countries as well as those between countries, whether or not war has been officially declared.

Humanitarian grounds
Civilians, who may have little interest or involvement in the dispute, suffer when conflicts, whether between countries, or between communities within a country, escalate into physical violence and war. They suffer both directly from the violence and indirectly from the disruption to normal life, food supplies, services and physical and social infrastructure.
Economic grounds
War is expensive. The costs of developing increasingly high technology weaponry are escalating. Military spending diverts resources away from combating pollution, environmental destruction and social welfare. By contrast, conflict resolution can offer much better value for money.
Environmental grounds
War can be devastating to the environment, destroying vegetation and habitats, causing pollution and scattering debris, sometimes lethal, including landmines and depleted uranium.
Violent conflict can be prevented
Opportunities to avoid the human suffering and economic costs of war have been missed. There has been a failure to defuse potentially violent situations. On many occasions in the past, war or violent conflict could perhaps have been avoided if more effort and resources had been channelled into tackling the situation and resolving matters at an early stage. There are examples where this has been done successfully but in many others nothing has been done until too late, or what was done was under-resourced and insufficient.
Considerable expertise exists
There are many organisations and individuals with a great deal of expertise in preventing and resolving conflict and in reconciliation work. Some have a strongly pacifist philosophy but most accept that a diverse range of skills, expertise and activities is needed to transform violent conflict, rebuild civil society and establish real security. The armed forces have expertise and a role in some situations.
MAW: Reasons to avoid war

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"I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center." - Kurt Vonnegut

Incorrect. The U.S. Navy was created in 1775 to fight against the British. The Barbary Wars occurred several decades later.

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"Democracy cannot consist solely of elections that are nearly always fictitious and managed by rich landowners and professional politicians."

-Che Guevara, Punta del Este, Uruguay, August 8th, 1961

the following are a mainly a result of the oil component.

• U.S. pressure on Arab energy producers to keep oil prices low
• U.S. support for apostate, corrupt, and often tyrannical Muslim governments

a good point to start from is avi shlaim's war and peace in the middle east wherein he describes u.s.'s two conflicting middle eastern policies ~ israel and oil.

i'm always happy to hear others opinions, but in the end i fear you'll be preaching to the choir

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EDUCATION, n.
That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding ~ A. Bierce

gs ~ what does this have to do with what zapata posted? the current israeli problems stem from partitioning of palestine not something that happened back in 1805

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EDUCATION, n.
That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding ~ A. Bierce

the country with the biggest threat is the one with arguably the most power influence and allies and that would be the U.S. I am not saying it would i am saying it has the power to

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"The goal of the enemy ... is not to defeat us militarily, because they don't have the wherewithal to defeat us militarily. The goal of the enemy is to break the will of the United States of America. It's clear, it's simple, it's straightforward. Break our will, make us leave before Iraq is ready to come out and be a member of the responsible community of nations."
General John Abizaid on iraqi insurgency.