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| Quick & Dirty Guide to Wars In The World |
| 2005-03-29 |
| March 29, 2005: The War on Terror still gets the attention of the media, but the vast majority of the military related violence and deaths in the world comes from dozens of little wars. Actually some of them are not so little. While causalities from terrorism are relatively few, the dead and wounded from all the other wars are much more numerous. Major military operations continue in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Sudan, Colombia, Pakistan and Nepal. In all these countries, civil war is the main cause of conflict. The usual cause is a dispute over scarce resources, or territory that has changed hands in the past. There are no traditional "invasion" type wars going on at the moment. However, some of the conflicts involve the use of irregular troops to "invade" a neighbor and try to conquer disputed territory. This is the case in Kashmir, where Pakistani irregulars have been invading this disputed territory, trying to take it from India. The major threat of war these days is with China, which threatens to take Taiwan by force. The major cause war and disorder today is terrorism and private armies. Private armies are proving a major barrier to peace. Calling the leaders of these forces warlords is pretty accurate, as these guys live off war. Stealing, or extorting, what they need, these groups have flourished on the availability of cheap Cold War surplus weapons from Eastern European and Russian arsenals. Africa is awash in warlords, with armed groups controlling turf in Ivory Coast, Sudan, Congo, Somalia, and Liberia. Warlords also hold sway in places like Sri Lanka, Philippines, Nepal, Chechnya, Colombia, Rwanda, Burundi and Afghanistan. The warlords have become a worldwide problem, with gunmen openly organizing and operating as private governments. The real governments prove helpless in dealing with the warlords, who openly play to the mass media and local political parties. While warlords have not exactly become respectable, they have become accepted as a "cannot ignore" part of the political landscape in much of the world. Western nations, with their superior armed forces, are reluctant to take on the warlords. Doing so generates complaints at home that, "it's not worth the cost, " "it's not our business" and is generally viewed with hostility by the international community as an unwanted resurgence of "colonial imperialism". Part of this has to do with the clever way the warlords play the media game. It's a new generation of warlords, and eventually the world is going to have to deal with them. The warlords are often hospitable to Islamic terrorists, and this directly threatens Western nations. Current wars are listed in alphabetical orders. Text underneath briefly describes current status. AFGHANISTAN Taliban losing ground as new government slowly extends control. But independent minded tribes, warlords and drug gangs still stand in the way of peace, prosperity and true national unity. ALGERIA Islamic rebels on the run, but a general uprising looms because of dissatisfaction with the old revolutionaries that refuse to honor election results or share power. ANGOLA Main rebel group (UNITA) defeated, but smaller ones have appeared to fight over oil wealth. BALKANS The Greater Albania Movement is driven by part time Albanian nationalists, full time gangsters and a growing number of Islamic radicals. CENTRAL ASIA Dictators brew rebellion by suppressing democrats and Islamic radicals. CHAD Peace has broken out, for the moment. CHINA The confrontation with Taiwan continues, as do hostilities with neighbors, separatists, dissenters and ancient enemies. China speeds up modernization of its armed forces. COLOMBIA After over three decades, leftist rebels losing support, recruits and territory. CONGO Multiple tribal and political militias, plus an increasing number of bandits, continue to roam the countryside. INDIA-PAKISTAN Kashmir is but one of many rebellions that beset the region. But India and Pakistan have nukes, making escalation a potential catastrophe. Recent peace talks have lowered the possibility of war, but both sides continue an arms race. INDONESIA Separatism, pirates, Islamic terrorists and government corruption create an increasingly volatile situation. IRAN Minority of Islamic conservatives have veto power over the majority of reformers. The supply of peaceful solutions is drying up. After that comes another revolution. Meanwhile, the Islamic conservatives are determined to build nuclear weapons. IRAQ Sunni Arab minority makes peace with the majority Kurds and Shia Arabs. But Sunni Arab Islamic radicals still back terrorism attacks against government and Shia Arabs (who are considered heretics). ISRAEL Jewish and Palestinian radicals continue to confront peacemakers. The Palestinian people got tired of terrorism and are trying to work out a peace deal with Israel. IVORY COAST The north and the south fight over money, religion and power. KOREA After half a century, North Korea continues to destroy its economy to maintain armed forces capable of invading South Korea. KURDISH WAR Kurds continue 5,000 year struggle to form their own country. LIBERIA Chaos, collapse and tired of fighting. MICRONESIA Several "failed states" (countries with populations that cannot govern themselves) are found here. NEPAL Radical communist rebels battle to overthrow a popular monarchy. NIGERIA Too many tribes, too much oil money and too much corruption creates too much violence. POTENTIAL HOT SPOTS Various places where the local situation is warming up and might turn into a war. PHILIPPINES Islamic minority in the south wants it's own country, and expulsion of non-Moslems. Communist rebels in the north fight for social justice and a dictatorship. RUSSIA Rebuilding and reforming the Soviet era armed forces and fighting gangsters and Islamic radicals in Chechnya. RWANDA & BURUNDI War between better organized and more aggressive Tutsis and more numerous Hutu tribes. It's been going on for centuries. SOMALIA A failed state. It was never a country, but a collection of clans and tribes that fight each other constantly over land and other economic issues. Attempting to establish a new government. SRI LANKA Tamil minority (19th century economic migrants from southern India) battle to partition the island. SUDAN Moslems in the north try to suppress separatist tendencies among Christians in the south. Complicated by oil fields in the south, and Moslem government attempts to drive Christians from oil region. Battles over land in the west pit Arab herders against black Sudanese farmers. Both sides are Moslem, but the government is backing the Arabs. THAILAND Moslems in the south have a different religion than most Thais, and are different ethnically as well (they are Malays). Islamic radicalism has arrived, along with an armed effort to create a separate Islamic state among the few million people in the area. UGANDA Religion and tribalism combine to create a persistent rebellion in the north, which is aided by Sudan. WAR ON TERROR International terrorism has created a international backlash and a war unlike any other. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #5 ...If it comes from StrategyPage, it's trustworthy. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2005-03-29 8:19:14 PM |
| #4 I see the words 'Islam' and 'Moslems' coming up a lot. I wonder why that is They are persectuter! /end Muck4doo |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-03-29 7:05:49 PM |
| #3 Well, other than those, everything seems pretty calm. |
| Posted by: Dreadnought 2005-03-29 2:46:25 PM |
| #2 Noticed that too, Raj. Also the word 'separatist' came up a lot. By nibbles and bits they try steal the world. |
| Posted by: BH 2005-03-29 2:38:46 PM |
| #1 I see the words 'Islam' and 'Moslems' coming up a lot. I wonder why that is... |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-03-29 2:11:38 PM |