In arguing in favour of taking military actions, even outright military agression, many say that we must go to war to protect freedom and save lives. Let us take this to task then on that very criteria. Has war saved lives and secured freedom? What is the civilian cost of war? Who are truly the victims? Has war accomplished what its proponents have said it is for, or has war been a dismal failure?

World Wars I and II, 1914-1918, 1939-1945.

The total number of civilians killed in World War I is estimated, given the poor records of the time, at 10 million. The number of civilians killed in World War II is approximately 40 million, including 17 million Russians, 10 million Chinese, 4 million Germans and 300,000 Japanese. The total number of soldiers killed in WWII is approximately 20 million.

The percentage of civilians killed in WWI was 5% of total casualties. In WWII it was up to 65%. By the 1990s, civilian casualties increased to 90% of all casulaties. Advancements in military technology have only served to save the lives of soldiers, even enemy soldiers, rather than civilians.

Dresden, Germany, Feb. 14, 1945.

Between 35,000 and 135,000 civilians are killed in an Allied firebombing raid. Exact numbers are unknown due to the number of German refugees circulating through the region.

The plight of German refugees would continue after the war. 6-7 million Germans were ethnically cleansed from the territories given to Poland by the Allies. Tens of thousands would die, including many involved in the rescue of persecuted peoples from the Holocaust.

The Holocaust, Nazi-occupied Europe, 1939-1945.

6 million Jews and 5 million non-Jews (Gypsies, homosexuals, mentally and physically handicapped, war resisters, Christians, political dissidents) are systematically killed.

Prior to the war, Allied countries refuse to take in Jewish refugees, in full knowledge of Hitler's "Final Solution". When asked about accepting Jewish refugees, Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King was quoted as saying "One Jew is too many."

Hiroshima, Japan, Aug. 6, 1945.

Between 80,000 and 100,000 civilians are killed in the first atomic bombing in history. 3 days later, hours after the Japanese government decides to surrender, Nagasaki is also leveled by an atomic bombing, killing approximately 40,000. Thousands more would die in the following months and years due to injuries and radiation. Revenge for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a military target, and the preservation of Allied soldiers' lives are given as rationale.

The Vietnam War, North and South Vietnam, 1957-1975.

So-called "war of national liberation". Up to 10 million people are turned into refugees, equaling half the population, and upwards of 3 million civilians are killed. Both Communist and western militaries exhibit little to no regard for civilians, and actively seek out nonmilitary targets for invasion, bombing, and napalm. Agent Orange also causes widespread ecological devastation.

Palestine.

Between 2000 and 2002 alone, 319 Israeli civilians are killed and 2,707 are injured while 1,538 Palestinian civilians are killed and 19,189 are injured. The battle is waged between the traditional military machine of the Israeli government and the terrorist/suicide bomber tactics of the Palestinian leaders. However, both sides are indescriminant with regards to civilian casualties.

Tiannamen Square, Beijing, June 5, 1989.

The Chinese government uses military force to suppress peaceful, unarmed, pro-democracy protesters. More than 1,000 are killed and an estimated 200+ protesters are still imprisoned. China remains a significant trade partner of the "freedom loving" Western world.

New York and Washington DC, Sept. 11, 2001.

Osama bin Laden uses his CIA terrorist training to orchestrate the killing of over 3,000 civilians in a suicide attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

This event sparks a United States created "War on Terror", the first victim of which is Afghanistan. After enduring a decade of known oppression by the Taliban, between 3,000 and 3,400 civilians are killed in American bombing raids.

Iraq, 1991-Present.

Over a million Iraqi civilians have died as a direct result of economic sanctions following the Gulf War, half of which are children. More than 200 people die per day, and between 5,000 and 6,000 die per month. Infant mortality rates in Iraqi are among the highest in the world, and 1 in 4 children are severely malnourished. Hundreds have also been killed in US/UK air raids.

The impending "War on Terror", waged against Iraqi civilians for no other reason than control of the oil reserves beneath their feet, is poised to kill thousands more.

The reality seems painfully evident. Far from accomplishing the claims of protecting lives and securing freedom, war has been the greatest enemy of life and freedom which humanity has ever engaged in. War is convicted by its own record. If we desire life and freedom, then to chose the use of violence is self-defeating. War has in fact been a dismal failure, and the pretentious nonsense and false moral highground of military proponents should come to an end.