What was the last truly worthy war?

[Kalish]

Generally unavoidable, and for freedom and human rights.

I guess I would say WWII. Kosovo, perhaps, but that was more like an operation, not a 'war'.

[Guaranteed]

1. Yeah, Kosovo was more of a "We stopped a war" thing,

although there was some shooting and whatnot.

I think I'd probably have to say WWII, like you, although Korea...maybe? Depends on what you think about it.

[Kalish]

2. Korea

funny, I don't hear much about that war.

how come we didn't get bogged down there like in Vietnam?

[Guaranteed]

13. It wasn't guerrilla warfare.

Whether Vietnam was or not is arguable. Again, I dunno.

[kliljedahl]

15. Didn't get bogged down there?

We're still there.


Keith’s Barbeque Central

[Guaranteed]

23. LOL I seriously laughed hard at that.

Very clever. It's true.

But our soldiers aren't dying.

[kliljedahl]

35. If we're still there we're bogged down as far as I'm concerned

50 years & counting isn't bogged down?


Keith’s Barbeque Central

[Geoff R. Casavant]

39. My history is a little fuzzy . . .

but I believe Korea happened before China had the Bomb. Thus my theory is that they couldn't push too hard for fear of massive retaliation, and we got out with a tie (compare pre-1950 boundaries with 1953 boundaries). By the time Vietnam came around, China had the Bomb, andthus the nuclear option was pretty much off the table.

All IMHO, and keep in mind it's 11:20 PM here as I write this.

[RummyTheDummy]

3. For my money it was WWII

Even though WWII is about as popular on DU as anal probes.

[Kalish]

4. I have reason to doubt that

[Moochy]

5. The War on Carthage!!

Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam!

Can you say senatorial mandate?

[Alexander]

6. Korea

Go ahead and flame away, but I have a hunch Kim Jong Il would have Japan right about now if we didn't step in.

For freedom and human rights? No, it was to protect a country we had conquered not 5 years ago.

As far as that goes the ONLY (yes, ONLY) war/military action fought for human rights was Kosovo. You can bet World War II wasn't fought to save the Jews.

[wuushew]

8. Laudable results carried out in a profoundly illegal fashion(Kosovo)

no Congressional approval, improper use of NATO and no authorization from the U.N.

[Guaranteed]

14. I thought that the U.N. was there.

Of course NATO was there.

[wuushew]

17. For the peace keeping mission afterwards

The bombing of bridges and other targets in Serbia was all U.S. and its allies.

While it may have hassened the downfall of the Milosovich goverment it is not as though there was no domestic Serbian opposition to him.

[htuttle]

7. Korea

The last legal one, anyway.

Kuwait/Gulf War I might have been an exception, save for April Glaspie's non-provocation/provocation that gave Hussein the apparent green light to invade. I think I remember that the recognized government of Kuwait, ie., the al Sabah family, officially requested assistance from the US under Article 51 of the UN Charter, so theoretically it was 'legal' if the right of self-defense under Article 51 is 'transferrable' without a UN Security Council action.

None of the others, though. None of the wars in the '80's were even remotely legal under the UN Charter.

[Disturbed]

9. The War On Poverty

Although it was a real brief one.

[fishwax]

12. and sadly unsuccessful

:(

But good answer! :)

[indepat]

10. April snookered Saddam IMHO as surely as God made little green apples

in the summertime.

[wli]

11. WWII

There are some questions there, too (Pearl Harbor LIHOP).

[kliljedahl]

16. Peloponnesian war

Keith’s Barbeque Central

[Caleb]

18. What about the first Gulf War?

I always thought that it was a justified and worthy war.

[K-W]

25. Not really.

There was a little legitimacy to it, but the US mucked the waters up so much its hard to call it legitimate.

Saddam was a US ally, we armed him and we encouraged him to exercise his power, but he had become increasingly uncooperative, Saddam wanted to control his oil. So then Saddam and Kuwait get into a spat over oil they both want, Saddam has a military, Kuwait is a tiny kingdom, Saddam asks the US if it cares about Kuwait, the US says no, so Iraq invades Kuwait.

Now mind you, the Kuwaiti monarchy is no more legitimate a leader of Kuwait than Saddam Hussien, it was illegal aggression, but returning the Kuwaiti monarchy is a hard act to justify.

So insofar as the war removed the illegal occupation of Kuwait, it was good. But really the US could have prevented the war by simply telling Iraq not to do it. The only way he could get away with invading Kuwait, whos monarchy was very friendly with the west was with the diplomatic cover of the United States.

Not only that, but we lied to the Saudis and told them that Iraq was amassing armies to concquer them so that they would let us military operations against Iraq. A military prescence we sustained after the end of the war. And we got the whole damn world to go along with it because they played Saddam like a fiddle.

It was however a legal war, it had the security council. But I think on overall analysis it was not a just war. It was a war of opportunity for the US to achieve strategic objectives in the middle east. Basically removing the toys we had given Saddam because we didnt trust him anymore and building up a large miliatary prescence in the region including basis in Saudi Arabia. Bush decided to give Saddam a chance and didnt depose him then and there, but it didnt matter because the neocons would manage to keep the war simmering for 8 years.

So its not clear cut at all, it depends on what your definition of a just war is.

[HEyHEY]

19. Kosovo was peace keeping - I think ww2

Was the last war I'd of volunteered for.

[Deja Q]

20. WW II

I don't know enough about Korea but as long as it wasn't about "preventing communism" I'm cool.

Vietnam was about "preventing communism".

Indeed, any war regaridng "fighting communism" died the day Nixon opened China's doors to offshoring (don't give me the "he did it for humanitarian reasons" response, that's a load of bunk. Liberals would have wanted it that way but repukes would get their way in the end.)

Iraq I was to help Kuwait - apparently Kuwait slant-drilled, which prompted Saddam to fight back. (Hell, if somebody slant-drilled Texas oil, you bet the US would respond in force... duh.)

Iraq II was blood feud fodder. Vengeance.

The 'war on terror' would be more noble if our corruption and greed wasn't one of the more noteworthy causes of terrorism; our interference in the M.E. region since the mid-70s is a definite big factor here.

[Kraklen]

21. Kosovo, WWII, the Civil War...

umm...

[manic expression]

42. What are your reasons

not to include Korea? I'm curious.

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. WW II, with Kosovo getting an honorable mention

[sweetheart]

24. Framing

I see the civil rights movement as a war, and the battles still rage
today. MLK, the equal rights amendment, and justice for all people
is a far more personal war that we have lived all of our lives.

Inter society war is just mass murder of common people by elite classes,
"class warfare" in anotehr way... and world war II was just another
one of those... like all the others. Elites kill poor people
masquerading the exercise as necessary using moral reasons that
sucker most people in. World war II had a lot of suckers. Look at
all the people who would call hiroshima and the fire bombing of japan
anything but a war crime. They are apologists for war crimes far more
heinous than anything the war was to prevent. And as war criminals,
in a society of war criminals, what justice was there except to
absolve ourselves of guilt by declaring the crime necessary and just.

[K-W]

26. Chomsky on Kosovo.

I dont want to start a fight with anybody about Chomsky. Im just posting this for those of you who value his work.

http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/articles/9903-current_bombings.htm

[sakabatou]

27. Same as you

Either WWII, or Kosovo... maybe Gulf War I.

[Son of California]

28. Easy.......WWII

Just about everything else was either a bout with paranoia, or corporate bullshit.

[Norwood]

29. WW2

[NoPasaran]

30. Afghanistan

Too bad Bush made such a hash of it.

[Kalish]

31. you're right

I thought that some action was necessary there. In my mind though it's mixed up with the Iraq fiasco, but it probably should be considered separately.

[LittleClarkie]

33. Past-tense

He has not even begun to hash! The poppy trade is back and Al Queda is re-emerging. Such is war on the cheap.

[Guaranteed]

38. Yup.

I remember that one for this question sometimes. Sometimes I don't.

[FreedomAngel82]

32. WW2

[maxsolomon]

34. the one where we wiped out the neandertals

it was us or them.

[Kalish]

36. they could have been reasoned with

that's just cold slander of the neandertals.

[sintax]

37. Forgo all illusions- Kosovo

is where the world's most valuable mine is, the Trepca Mining Complex. The worlds largest base is Camp Bondsteel conveniently located in Kosovo and run by the US and operated by that Halliburton subsidiary KBR. The 'humanitarian' slant was just a convenient in.

Gold is the reason for the wars we wage.

[Raiden]

40. Probably Afghanistan

I'm not sure though because its leadership has been so inept

Definantly Kosovo
Persian Gulf War I, though there was so much nefarious activity going on behind the scenes
Arguably Korea
WWII, without question, especially in hindsight

WWI (Not!!!)

[sleipnir]

41. The Frist Crusades

And, yes, I do mean Frist, as in Bill Frist.


That's to mean, the crusades to bring him down.

[Ptah]

43. I agree, the war that my father fought (WWII) n/t

[WillyT]

44. Grenada...

Aka... Operation Urgent Fury



:silly: