Civil War Paper

Civil War

A civil war is defined by Dictionary.com as a war between political factions or regions within the same country. (www.Dictionary.com ) The Washington Post website, War in the Shadows, showed that there are also other types of organized groups that get involved in civil wars such as armed militias or organized groups based on a common ethnic background or common goal/belief. (www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/africa/centralafrica/shadows/index.htm) The common factor is that the opposing parties in any civil war are very passionate about what they are fighting for and they are adamantly opposed to most if not all of the basic beliefs of those they are opposing.

For example, consider the war between the North and South during the 1860s. The American Civil War was the culmination of decades of regional tensions between the North and South and their drastically opposing views on slavery and states rights. One of the reasons this war lasted four long years was because neither side was willing to give up what they believed in their hearts to be the "right" way to run a country. This points to one of the main reasons why civil wars are so hard to end and control. The people involved in the fight aren't just fighting for something inconsequential. They are fighting for a way of life, or a change in their rights and freedoms, or the power to have control over something that they feel is imperative to their continued survival or something else they feel just as passionately about. Typically civil wars are so long and bloody because the people that are fighting feel like the causes they are fighting for are worth dying for.

Not only do civil wars cause unnecessary deaths, but there are also environmental and financial losses caused by civil wars. For example, the Gulf War was one of the most environmentally devastating wars ever. (www.lenntech.com/environmental-effects-war.htm) The Iraqi government forces caused huge environmental concerns like smog and acid rain when they intentionally set oil wells on fire and they