Nicholas Meyer

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1103
22 April 2016
War
I think that I have a very solid paper. While there are things that I wish that I
could clarify on a couple of key points because I feel that they were not completely
covered and that my audience might not get the full experience because of lack of
knowledge. But nonetheless I think my paper is very good!
Why do we go to war? Is it to protect ourselves? Or is it for our gain? Maybe just
a combination of the both! The three reasons we go to war are gold, God, and glory.
Whether it be from divine right or the simple promise for treasures these ideas have
been crucial in the creation of the world we have today. Whether you are an advocate of
war or not you must agree that the world we have today is almost completely shaped by
our very violent and war-filled past. But what makes war justified? According to the Just
War Theory, The principles of the justice of war are commonly held to be: having just
cause, being a last resort, being declared by a proper authority, possessing right
intention, having a reasonable chance of success, and the end being proportional to the
means used.

Money, everybody wants it and no one can get enough. Men would give up
everything and sail to brand new worlds in the search for gold. As times change the

most sought after resource changes. The most common one today is oil. Many consider
the campaign in the Middle East to really be a campaign for oil. One of the first real oil
grabs was with Chechen Oil. The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria had a major supply of
oil and Russia wanted it. Chechen oil is known to be better than most other oil as it was
of natural higher quality. Russia first tried to turn them into a puppet through nonmilitaristic means, but Chechon refused. This is what led to Russia invading them.
Russia thought it would be an easy conquest but the Chechen troops held on for much
longer than anticipated. In a battle that was thought to last only hours, actually lasted for
months. In a small city, Russian troops had to take every individual street and every
individual building turning it into a long cost ineffective process.
God has been known to be a strong advocate of war throughout history. Be
strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your
God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6. Pledge
yourself to him and he will never let you down. Many wars are known to be fought for
religious reasons. Probably the biggest campaign is the Holy Crusades.
These Crusades started when Pope Urban II pleaded for Christian Europe to
take up against the Muslim Turks who had taken over the holy land known as
Jerusalem. Many peasants and lower level knights picked up arms and marched to the
holy land in the name of their god. This went on for hundreds of years lasted from
around the 11th century till the 15th. This is the most prime example of a religious war
as the Christians painted the Muslim Turks as savages who have no right to live on their
holy land and the Turks view the Christian invaders as conquers trying to kick them out
of their home. So who was truly in the wrong? Well neither side is, which is the case in

almost every war. According the Just War Theory, In chivalrous times, the Christian
crusader could seek priestly absolution for atrocities committed in war.
I want to go back to one of the earliest, most well-known religions, the Ancient
Greek and Roman Gods. Both of these had a very similar form of religion that was
monotheistic. It is thought that each god represented a different part of people's lives, so
when you needed something specific you could pray to that certain god. In both
religions there is a god of war. To the Greeks he is known as Ares. He is best described
as the raw violence and untamed acts that occurred in wartime, in contrast to Athena,
who was a symbol of tactical strategy and military planning. Soldiers would pray to Ares
before war in hopes that he would give them strength. Similar to Ares the god of war for
the Roman Empire was Mars. Both these religions idolized him as a crucial part of the
foundation to faith.
But the ancient, extinct religions are not the only ones with deities of war. In the
book of revelations there is mention of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The sort of
apocalypse they bring is more of a figurative one though, it is explained that they
represent the major turmoils of mankind. Death, War, Pestilence, and Famine. While
Death and War are very similar, how they differ is that War is more of the idea of death,
while Death is the actual physical aspect of dying. The main contrast between the
Roman and Greek god of war and the Christian alternative is that the Roman and Greek
Gods were seen in positive lights and as helpful tools that men would pray too before
going to battle. On the other hand in the Christian faith it is war is seen as a negative
aspect that brings only suffering. But why are they so different?

The culture of the ancient civilizations were heavily based around war. War was
simply just what everyone did. Sparta, an independent Greek city-state, had an extreme
battle centric society. Men were raised for the soul purpose to be great warriors, going
through tough conditions and training regiments from birth. With this violent mindset war
was inevitable, how could nothing but soldiers and expect them not to fight. Overall I
think that the vast religious concepts that nations have and the views towards violence
or war of those religions can help explain the reasons for war.
What does it mean to be an honorable person? Many wish to obtain this
throughout life, but how is it possible. Does it come from selflessness or is it something
more? A great example would be Pat Tillman. He was a very talented football who
played for Arizona State University. After college he was drafted into the NFL for the
Arizona Cardinals in 1998. He was a bright student and graduated early with a major in
marketing and a GPA of 3.85. After the terrorist attack on 9/11, Pat Tillman enlisted in
the U.S Army with his brother. While this is quite a heroic decision for anyone to make,
the reason its noteworthy is that he turned down a 9 million dollar contract with the
Arizona Cardinals to do this. While he was in Afghanistan he was killed in a friendly fire
accident, which was covered up by the government because they were using him as a
poster boy to get people to enlist also.
Would you turn down 9 million dollars to go fight a war overseas? I probably
wouldnt either, in fact most people wouldnt, which is what makes Mr. Tillman
extraordinary. Jon Krakauer, author of the book Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of
Pat Tillman, talks about how caring and selfless Mr. Tillman was in his life. He makes for
an excellent role model when it comes to what it means to be an honorable person. Pat

Tillman was killed on April 22nd, 2004 by friendly fire. I find it quite dishonorable for the
government to mistreat Mr. Tillman in his death my lying not only to his family, but to the
whole country about his demise. Unfortunately I am sure that this happens all the time,
all over the world but that's just war I guess.
Growing up all we learn about is the wars that closely resemble the country we
live in. In America we learn from the American Revolution to the Cold war. In these wars
we are always painted as the good guys who are doing the just thing in fighting. Look at
World War One for example. You have the classic good vs bad in the fight between the
Allies (America, United Kingdom, France and Russia) versus the Central Powers
(Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary). But who is to say who was wrong and right. That
is what makes war such a tricky business, every perspective offers a new view on what
is wrong and right in fighting for. Bob Muller, a Vietnam Veteran gave an anti-war
speech in which he said What we do is, try to win the minds of the people; and since
we're doomed to fail, there's only one other answer: liquidate them. And that is what
we've done. While in Vietnam Bob and the other soldiers did not have the support of
the citizens. So why were they fighting for these people and dying for these people
when they didnt want/ask them too?
The Vietnam War is the most misguided war in our brief history. It was the first
war that America fought in that the public opinion 180ed from supporting the war to
disapproving of the war. The start of the Vietnam conflict can be linked all the way back
to the end of World War II, when the Cold War began between USSR and America. The
more direct cause of this war was the Korean Conflict that came a couple years before
it. The main difference between these two conflicts was that America did not technically

fight in Korea instead we sent troops to the UN, and those troops fought in Korea. This
was not the case in Vietnam.
The spark of the war was the Tonkin Resolution. August of 1964 there were
alleged attacks on the USS Maddox. Congress was led to believe that North Vietnam
had launched an offensive on America. This resolution is important because it gave the
acting president authorization to use military force without an official declaration of war.
(If this sounds familiar you might be thinking of the Patriot Act) As the war dragged on,
people generally were indifferent towards it, but as progress seemed unobtainable and
the death count slowly rising more and more people grew weary of the War. A new kind
of war was being fought, instead of fighting for land inches at a time like in World War I;
the objective of this war was simply to kill as many enemies as you could. Men would
fight days and weeks for a hill and once they had taken simply leave it forever as it was
no longer important since all the enemies were either dead or hiding in Cambodia.
Red tape is the real winner of Vietnam. So many things hindered the progress of
Vietnam, most if not all of them were politicians. One that comes to mind is Richard
Nixon. When Nixon was running for President he had a very clear campaign. That he
would end the conflict in Vietnam. But as peace talks were planned to happen before
the election was close he purposely delayed peace until it fit his agenda. Another thorn
in the side for the U.S. soldiers was Cambodia. Cambodia was of limits, U.S. troops did
not have authorization to go into Cambodia which North Vietnam would use to their
advantage by simply waiting 20 miles into Cambodia, run back into Vietnam and attack
and then simply retreat back to Cambodia where they were safe and sound from enemy
troops or bombings. When Vietnam did finally end, many people no longer supported

the idea of stopping communism at all costs. Also a severe distrust was found in the
government as the people felt lied to and cheated for fighting an unpopular war.
War will unfortunately always be around, at least in our lifetimes. The technology
of war has rapidly changed and will continue to change. While I do think we will never
live in a war free world, I do believe the worst is behind us. With advances in medicine
and education casualties of war significantly lower than before. Also the morality of the
world seems to be shifting to a happier and accepting place. Today truly is the best time
to be alive for all people, all over the world.