War a Necessary Evil (Essay Sample)

Introduction
War is a situation that engages a fight between two or more participants, which can be individuals, groups or nations, for a period of time. War may end up with destructions whose magnitude depends on the type of fights, the weapons involved and the time period the war takes. Any war has causes that the fight aims at solving. However, the reason for any war is not a mutually exclusive aim for the participants. Therefore, despite of the destructions that war brings, the attainment of the objectives of either of the participating sides seems to satisfy their feelings. This develops an argument that is in existence since the beginning of World War I, whether war is beneficial or non-beneficial. This brought about this debate, war is a necessary evil.
According to Karl von Clausewitz in his book “On War,” war is the continuation of peace policy with means of using force. He argues that the political stands of a country should continue to exist during the war because the insecurity that rises during the wartime is another form of reaction to the situation. He insists on regarding war composed of separate campaigns with linked engagements, one leading to the other (Alexander & Marsha 2003). If this is ignored, then the war engagement may ultimately lead to only disadvantages. War is unquantifiable, but only exists in magnitudes. It has varying scales with the participants striving with their physical forces against each other with the aims of throwing the adversary. The defeated will be rendered incapable of resisting. Therefore, in war is a situation to set a compulsory surrender of the enemy with disarmament. War involves the use of skills and equipment that suits the participants at a particular time of the fight.
Arguments and debates over war as a necessary evil traces its ways from long time ago, World War I where the crisis started by hitting Central Europe in 1914. The war came following a long series of clashes between Italy, Austria-Hungarian Empire, France, Germany, the British Empire and Russia. The clashes were over European balance in the power. The war tension became highest out of the Balkan territory and great power between Austria-Hungary and Russia. The winners in the war credited the war to their take over of the territory. Despite the destructions that included life and property losses (the evil part), they fulfilled their mission (necessity).
Another incident that raises such arguments is the war that went over in Libya last year. The wars in Libya rose as a result of the people’s desire for democracy under his ruling, Muammar Gadaffi. The Libyan people went through the war, with a necessity to democracy in their state. The war saw the civilians suffer deaths and encounter the many towns’ bombings (the evil) with a hope for democracy in their ruling. The international coalitions with the lead of NATO left a bloodshed in the West African country, but winning at the end of the war. The killing of Muammar Gadaffi and the fall of his governance was the long awaited war necessity by the Libyans and the whole international community.
The views in the debate on the holocaust suffering by the Jews under the leadership of Adolf Hitler ascribe the base of the debate, Is War a necessary Evil? It is certain that the beneficiaries of the war (including Hitler) would find it necessary. The evil the war carried is the mass destruction of Jews. The evil of the war is that the holocaust claimed about six million lives. A consideration of the slavery abolition in the northern states is also a ground base for the debate on war, a necessary evil. In late 18th and 19th century, enlighten against slavery shore light following human sentiments. This was the time when Jean Rousseau started spreading enlightening against slavery in the course of democracy upsurge. The revolution war against the slave trade hit trade following enlighten. It was also the enlighten that caused the fight for independence in Haiti state. This was the time slave trade was on the course in the United States.
This essay discusses the debate that lies in the minds of many scholars and philosophers across the world. The debate, War a Necessary Evil, has had controversial issues of social consequences. A rise in a fight has objectives in the minds of the participants. For instance, an enemy with an aim to capture another party’s property would wish to benefit form the capture, while the opponent would be to resist the capture for their own good. As war happen leaving destructions, the winner always feels the necessity of the fight. Therefore, this essay predicted and supported that it is truth worth that war is a necessary evil.
The sources of information in this essay were reliable enough. They were relevant to my area of study, stating the historical perspectives on my topic, War, a Necessary Evil. The sources verified earlier findings and researches on the topic. The essay used secondary materials for information sources. The sources consisted of journals, books, reviews on articles, and former writings on the debate topic on the internet. The sources contained references and enabled me to read further on their writings. The sources had reviews with criticisms and support from various researchers. The reviews ensured accuracy hence kept my credibility with the sources.
The internet source on a topic ‘Evaluating Web Resources’ by Jan Alexander and Marsha Ann Tala of April 2003 has several links to Garfield library, student classes, professors, institutional researchers, government sources and other further readings. The source has citations in text, footnotes, endnotes for clarity and follow up on new words and further explanations. The publishers of the work, Mc-Graw –Hill, and the scrutiny he discussed in the traditional styling methods reviews, all proved the credibility of the work.
The debate, Is War a Necessary Evil, is taking new phase each day. The continuing incidences in wars among the undemocratic nations, especially in Africa, are a contribution to the debate. Consideration of the last year’s wars on Libya against then president Muammar Gaddafi is a good example in this debate. Muammar Gaddafi ruled with violence of human rights and with undemocratic dictatorship. The followed Libyans demonstrations did not earn them any good but instead, it saw them the Gaddafi soldiers beat them up in the streets. The Libyans did not give up with the fights with hopes for a future, democratic Libya (Finkelman, 2006). In fact, the demonstrations now are looked at, as the ones to bring transformations in the Arab world.
The war in the name of ‘Protecting Civilians’ left much destructions in the country as a follow up of the people’s rights and humanity from the ‘greedy’ president, Muammar Gadaffi. With all measures underlain, it is a story of unique account. The coalitions of the international community against the rigid Muammar Gaddafi earned him death at the end of the day. Security Council resolutions authorized all that it pertained to ensure the safety and democracy of the Libyans. The whole of the story is aimed at the fulfillment of the desires of the people of Libya and the international community. This is the ‘necessity’ in the debate ‘War is a Necessary Evil.’
The war earned Muammar Gaddafi death. While he thought he would please the west at the expense of the public at home, he never knew of the rage he was cultivating in the people. In 1996, his actions against religious practices left some 1,270 prisoners killed at Tripoli's Abu Salim jail. The situation led to a reversal of American foreign policy to help the Islamists finish Gaddafi. Rodan (2011) writes ‘as days pass by, it remains apparent that assistance the US and NATO give Islamic Imperialists aims at doing away with Col. Muammar Gaddafi.’ Gaddafi was a vocal against the interests of imperial power of the people of the independent Libya, and Africa as whole.
Gadaffi kept Islamic religion far away from politics. He seemed to follow the modern philosophy of governance. This earned him a death price, which is termed as a necessity of the war in this debate, while the people earned the initially denied dignity. Despite the participation, of the international community in the war, the victory of the results belongs to the Libyans.
Consideration of the United States about war in Iraq has significant contributions to the debate: War is a Necessary Evil. The military action for America against the stringent and persistent Iraq under the presidency of Saddam Hussein served the whole world with peace against terrorism. The argument that tried to oppose the fact of American war in Iraq, suggested for containment that did not work for over ten years. The weapons of mass destruction (WMD) of Iraq risked the security of United States. This convinced the United States on links of Iraq with the Al Qaeda terrorists under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. The decision of the United States to change the insecurity regime in Iraq was to destroy the WMD capabilities of Iraq. The effort of United States to curb the menace by containment was failing, hence the plans on war. The plans included elimination of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden (Hammond, John & Matthew, 2011).
The allegations that turned out to be true that Al Qaeda terrorists were in Iraq pushed United States for war in Iraq. Iraq had planned to use the WMD weapons in favor of their terrorism across the world. The need for security improvement was the cause of the American war in Iraq. The combination of WMD weapons and the Al-Qaeda posed insecurity cases across the world including the 1998 Kenyan bombing. It cost the United States political and strategic expertise to clear the foreseen mess, for the well-being of the whole world – the nec...