# How can we stop war and conflict? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 17, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379 "2016-01-17T02:31:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/1 "2016-01-17T02:31:15Z")
It almost seems impossible to avoid war with Iran and the middle eat. The clip of Iran stockpile of nukes leaked out week ago and Iran detaining of two U.S. ships!! And Iran supporting and giving money and weapons to terrorists groups!! And conflict in the middle eat and terrorists in France and growing of instability of Islamist attacks like, Terrorist attack in Burkina of gunmen armed with heavy weapons attacked restaurant and Splendid Hotel and 28 people were killed well 56 were wounded and a total of 176 hostages!! Al-Shabab terrorists attack an African Union base in El-Ade. 63+ killed, several injured, in the 2016 Istanbul bombing an ISIS suicide bomber kills 10 tourists and injures 15 more in the historical centre of Istanbul, in the January 2016 Paris police station attack an Islamist from Morocco wearing a fake explosive belt attacked police officers with a meat cleaver.He was shot dead. A suspeceted lone wolf terrorist of Tunesian descent rammed his car on troops guarding a mosque, A gunman opened fire on a group of local residents who were visiting a viewing platform at the fortress in Derbent, Dagestan, southern Russia, killing one and injuring 11. ISIS claims responsibility, December 25, 2015 – In the 2015 Rajshahi mosque bombing an islamist suicide bomber detonated an explosive killing himself and injuring up to a dozen members inside an Ahmadiyya mosque, December 24, 2015 – 150 militants from Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) raided several locations in southern Philippine island of Mindanao, including the town, A Jewish history teacher was stabbed in the arm and leg by three Islamists in Marseille, A Malaysian national is beheaded by Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines. In the 2015 Ankara bombings 102 people were killed and over 400 others injured. According to two high ranked sources in the Turkish security forces ISIS is most likely responsible, October 3, 2015 – A Japanese man was shot and killed in a similar fashion to an Italian aid worker killed 4 days earlier. The attack has been claimed by ISIS, August 21, 2015 – 2015 Thalys train attack Shooting and stabbing in train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris injures 5.The incident is believed by French police to be an Islamist terrorist attack. July 20, 2015 – 2015 Suruç bombing Suicide bombing killed 33 people and injured 104 in Kurdish majority city of Suruç. ISIL claims responsibility, June 26, 2015 – Saint-Quentin-Fallavier attack – Beheading in a factory near Lyon, head marked with Arabic writing and Islamist flags. Gas canisters planted provoked a fire. 1 dead, 11 injured, June 5, 2015 – 2015 Diyarbakır rally bombings – Twin bombing of a Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) rally. 4 dead, over 100 injured, Two gunmen attacked the Curtis Culwell Center during a ‘Draw Muhammad’ cartoon art exhibit in Garland, Texas . 2 dead (perpetrators) 1 injured, January 9, 2015 - The Porte de Vincennes hostage crisis kills 4 and injures 9 people, January 7–9, 2015 – A series of five attacks in and around Paris kill 17 people, plus three attackers, and leave 22 other people injured. So on and so on. Just some of the instability of Islamist attacks in 2015 and 2016 . All these seem to be cause of religious extremism of Islamist faith vs western culture. No clear cut on how to stop war and conflict. The 90’s was bad but it seems worse now and not getting better but much worse. Just conflict with western culture.:(☹ How can we stop war and conflict? :(☹ It is obvious we are not going to do away with the western culture. So what can be down.😕 It seem if we had the crazy Donald trump voted in power we would have ww3 in no time.:eek::eek: How can we stop war and conflict? ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/2 "2016-01-17T02:54:24Z")
How can we stop war and conflict? We don’t. Seriously, it’s part of our nature. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/3 "2016-01-17T03:09:46Z")
Despite how it looks the world has actually never been more peaceful. We’ll probably never stop war and conflict but we’re heading in the right direction. This covers it to some extent: > **[The world is actually becoming more peaceful — believe it or not](https://theworld.org/stories/2014-09-29/world-actually-becoming-more-peaceful-believe-it-or-not)** > > New research suggests that, despite this summer's headlines, the world is actually more peaceful today than in recent history. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/4 "2016-01-17T03:13:36Z")
Get everybody really, really stoned. Or dead. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/5 "2016-01-17T03:19:11Z")
Realistically: we can’t Hypothetically: get rid of the corporations and politicians that start the wars ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/6 "2016-01-17T03:45:21Z")
Short of genetic engineering, we can’t. Our ancestors were much more warlike before there ever was a “politician or a corporation”. There has been an ever decreasing amount of violence in our species over the centuries, so take solace in that-- but it’s not going to Zero. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/7 "2016-01-17T03:49:36Z")
The way to avoid war with Iran is to not put any fucking morons in charge of the US. We might not _like_ Iran, but they are something we can live with - detaining and then releasing the crew of a couple of military boats after they strayed into Iranian territorial waters doesn’t make them dangerous loose cannons, and both major terrorist groups would sooner murder the Iranians as apostates than ally with them. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/8 "2016-01-17T03:58:02Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Short of genetic engineering, we can’t. Our ancestors were much more warlike before there ever was a “politician or a corporation”. There has been an ever decreasing amount of violence in our species over the centuries, so take solace in that-- but it’s not going to Zero. You can’t fight a war without a politician. Two small tribes or two small groups can fight each other, but for a war, you need a politician. Or, a king/dictator. Just because we are hard wired to be violent does not mean we can’t prevent wars. Well, in today’s world we can’t. I’m looking to the future, however. I think a world with out war is possible. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/9 "2016-01-17T11:06:16Z")
> [@sweat209](#): > > IThe clip of Iran stockpile of nukes leaked out week ago What? > [@sweat209](#): > > and Iran detaining of two U.S. ships!! Those ships - and the sailors on them - were promptly returned. The risk of an American war against Iran has been steadily decreasing for quite a while now. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/10 "2016-01-17T11:12:56Z")
> [@sweat209](#): > > Iran detaining of two U.S. ships!! Those two ships for whatever reason wandered into Iranian waters and being detained is the logical outcome of that. If Iranian ships had wandered into our waters we would have done the same. No one was hurt and it was sorted out rapidly. Apparently there was a navigation problem with the ships and no malice intended. End of problem. There is a lot to be concerned about in the world, that incident could have been one of them but isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/11 "2016-01-17T12:16:44Z")
I think we should pursue the OP’s suggestion and throw more exclamation points at the problem. ---
**Author:** ![zirimiri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8e8cbc/32.png) [@zirimiri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zirimiri)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/12 "2016-01-17T17:15:45Z")
> [@sweat209](#): > > It almost seems impossible to avoid war with Iran and the middle eat. The clip of Iran stockpile of nukes leaked out week ago and Iran detaining of two U.S. ships!! > > And Iran supporting and giving money and weapons to terrorists groups!! > > All these seem to be cause of religious extremism of Islamist faith vs western culture. Hi there! Iranian nukes? That would be world news. To date, Iran has not developed nuclear weapons; it is not even clear whether they ever intended to. Ask the CIA. Iran supporting terrorists is a meme often used by US politicians; however, it is mostly untrue, and/or depends on your definition of ‘terrorist group’, and/or is something the US doesn’t shy away from itself. Could you name any? The problem is that all incidents and conflicts you mention each have very different causes and are occurring in differing circumstances, but are lumped together as one phenomenon. Which imho they are not. Stopping war and conflicts is probably impossible, as they are ingrained in human nature. Conflicts, however, can be resolved either with or without violence. Assuming you are American, I take it you are well aware of a pervasive American attitude towards violence, i.e., as something good, manly, and a panacea = a cure for every problem. That doesn’t really help. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/13 "2016-01-17T18:23:45Z")
Like **zirimiri** I also need a cite for those Iranian nukes from the OP. As others pointed we are doing much better really in the matter of world peace, the OP needs to get some perspective. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NbuUW9i-mHs/maxresdefault.jpg "Is War Over? — A Paradox Explained") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbuUW9i-mHs) > [@](#): > > We live in the most peaceful time in human history. Wait, what? Seriously? That can’t be right, there are more wars than ever! Well, no and they’re killing fewer and fewer people, even though the world population is at an all-time high…and the numbers prove it! We explain how we came to this conclusion, and why war might… go away. > [@](#): > > Yes there are nasty conflicts going on in many places but overall, things are getting better. > > And we can make them even better by speaking up for peace and democracy. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/14 "2016-01-17T23:15:24Z")
Both North Korea and Iran have nukes. But North Korea lack the delivery system to reach the US. Iran nukes can reach Israel but is is debated if the delivery system could reach the US. Both the Iran and North Korea are on technological development of 40’s. The Iran and North Korea lack long range bombers or long range missiles. Both countries hate the US and want the US ripped out. North Korea for the US war on communism and US imperialism. And Iran the US for support for Israel and western society that conflicts. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/15 "2016-01-17T23:20:03Z")
> [@sweat209](#): > > Both North Korea and Iran have nukes. Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait. Iran has nukes? Your belief is that Iran has nukes? Not that is wishes that it had nukes, or that it secretly strives towards getting nukes, or that it would use nukes if it had them, but that _Iran currently has nukes_? Care to back up that statement? And, uh… Do you realise that practically _no one else in the world believes this_? Not the Americans, not the Europeans, not the Israelis, not the Arabs, not the Chinese…? ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2016, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/16 "2016-01-17T23:45:31Z")
It seems odd to make the bigger question about war all about Islam vs the west. IN the last year there was: - continued organized violence by drug cartels against each other and government forces in Mexico and Central America - ISIS fighting against groups that are predominantly Muslim not western (that’s actually the majority of their efforts) - fighting in Ukraine between government forces and pro-Russian separatists - fighting in Yemen with both sides dominantly composed of people who are Muslims - the latest chapter in the ongoing Sudanese civil war that dates back decades. While there’s a religious difference between the north and south the “west” has largely ignored the conflict. To try and make all inter-group violence about one issue takes cherrypicking the data. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/17 "2016-01-18T01:14:54Z")
> [@sweat209](#): > > Both countries hate the US and want the US ripped out. > > North Korea for the US war on communism and US imperialism. And Iran the US for support for Israel and western society that conflicts. Yes, I’m sure [overthrowing their elected government and installing a hated dictator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat) had nothing to do with it. They just don’t like our blue jeans. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/18 "2016-01-18T03:46:00Z")
> [@sweat209](#): > > Both North Korea and Iran have nukes. Iran does have nukes. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/19 "2016-01-18T05:14:53Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Iran does have nukes. I suspect that you are missing the word “not” in that sentence. If my suspicons are incorrect, I would be grateful for a cite. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379/20 "2016-01-18T05:38:03Z")
**How can we stop war and conflict?** By evolving into teddy bears. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-we-stop-war-and-conflict/743379.md?page=2)