Confront War

When it comes to war, most of us fall victim to the distortions in the media, our learned belief that war is inevitable and just, and that there is no alternative. In the media we are hearing how Iran peace talks have failed giving the impression that peace is unattainable. Peace is attainable with the right leadership. Civilians do not create war. Our leaders do. According to the Modern War Institute, "we often find a familiar list of what leads us into war: bumbling leaders, ancient hatreds, intransigent ideologies, dire poverty, historic injustices, and a huge supply of weapons and impressionable young men and women." We add to that list profitability for a few, weak governance, and decisions limited to a rigged "on and off switch" with war the inevitable result.  In this section we explore why wars happen and are there conflicts today where escalation into war may be averted? 

U.S. Central Command—also known as CENTCOM—oversees military operations in some of the hottest places on the planet.  It commissioned Rand to identify a climate-related conflict that could lead to war.  The researchers flagged one simmering conflict that has the potential to become the first real water war of the 21st century.  Egypt and Sudan depend on the Nile but the river's major tributary starts in Ethiopia. And since 2011, Ethiopia has been building a hydroelectric dam across that tributary—a dam that Egypt has described as a threat to its very existence. Although both sides have threatened military action, several agreements have been signed to allocate water to upstream and downstream users - an agreement which establishes a maximalist approach to water allocation.   As climate stress becomes more intense and more frequent a maximalist approach will need to be modified and agreed to by the three parties. and without an agreement, conflict can arise.   The Egypt - Ethiopian - Sudan conflict can serve as an example of preventing war through mediating its causes.