War in Decline?

[Merv Benson]

I think the Iran Iraq war produced for more KIAs than his annual total. In contrast the first Gulf War in 1991 which was not asymetrical had fewer casualties.

I think the case can be made that the total casualties in asymetrical warfare can be significant because they drag on so long. I have seen estimates that the Vietnamese suffered over a million casualties during the wars that led to the communist conquest.

Does his count include Pol Pot? How about the Sudan? It can be argued that the man made famine in the Sudan and the current one in Zimbabwe will kill significant numbers of people. We know that Stalin killed millions in the Ukraine and Mao killed millions in China using famine as a low cost genocide.

[Strickland]

If someone truly cares about the plight of the Sudanese, Congolese, or Zimbabweans, find a way to make them essential in the Global War on Terror. If in fact we thought these countries would become further breeding grounds of terror, we would provide more assistance to prevent such an occurance. In the end, I can only infer that we dont care if they terrorize each other so long as they do not terrorize us.

If the numbers reported are accurate, we are spending $7 billion per month in Iraq and Afghanistan. What would one month of this kind of support by way of pure humanitarian assistance buy us in terms of influence iwith poor Muslims in Africa? Apparantly, the Chinese think it will get them something of value in the long-run.