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From: tac@cholula.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Causes of war
Message-ID: <22@cholula.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 4-Oct-84 13:15:41 EDT
Article-I.D.: cholula.22
Posted: Thu Oct  4 13:15:41 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 6-Oct-84 04:00:37 EDT
References:  <1394@bmcg.UUCP> <542@pucc-i>
Organization: Teltone Corp., Kirkland, WA
Lines: 55

, (sop to the blank line eaters--consider it a religious sacrifice)

>>  Bill,
>>  	If you *study* history, you will find that these 'causes' of wars
>>  you mention, (assasinations, raids, etc.) are merely populized excuses used 
>>  to drum up public support for the war effort, rather than actual causes.  
>>  In a situation where it is really not advantageous to the people in power to
>>  start up a conflict, they don't.
>>  
>>  -----
>>  Marc W. Mengel            [1 spelling, 1 non-word = C-  ed.]

There is fact to your contention Marc, but I don't think you have expressed
the true data clearly enough.

       ** THERE IS NO CASE IN HISTORY WHERE ONE COUNTRY ATTACKED **
       ** ANOTHER WHEN THEY DID NOT THINK THAT THEY COULD WIN!   **

The obvious conclusion to draw from this is that to insure peace you must
make certain that all sides KNOW that they would loose a war if it started!
Now, since all of the people who are advocating disarmament as means of
insuring peace agree that no one could win a nuclear war, they have already
admitted that the best form of keeping peace is to insure parity in arms.
I know of no one who claims that limitations treaties are of particular
effectiveness due to enforcement problems, but let us not argue that point.

The space race is an offshoot of the arms race, and they both have paid
for themselves many times over in technological development.  (Just think
about the terminal and computer that you are reading this on--it is the
offshoot of efforts to make a "smart" missile smaller than a gymnasium.)
So many possibilities exist solely because of the space race that I can't
even figure where to begin.  I can only suggest further reading along 
this line--"A Step Farther Out" by Jerry Pournelle.  (Yes, the User's column
in Byte and an SF writer, but this one is a collection of Science columns
that he has written.)

Let me say, for the record, that I do not advocate unlimited arms spending.
I would like to see the Defense budget cut by 50% and the Social Services
budget cut by 80%.  Not only would this bring them down to approximate
parity, but it should force them to reduce inefficiencies.  [Defense 
department hammers @ $2000.00 are legend, but did you know that in 1976
an accounting firm did an analysis of the Social Services people and
found that it took $5 input to get $1 output (making no comment on the
needyness of the recipients).]  Now THAT would start to balance the 
budget without increasing the deficit!

From the Soapbox of
Tom Condon     {...!uw-beaver!tikal!tac}

A Radical A Day Keeps The Government At Bay.

DISCLAIMER:  The opinions expressed herein are those of everyone who
  matters, but not necessarily anyone you know, and most certainly not
  my employers!