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Consequences of War and Militarism

Explore the history and epidemiology of war, including the use of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. Discover the economic, environmental, and health consequences of militarism and war. Dive into contemporary conflicts like Afghanistan, Iraq, and the "War on Terror." Finally, learn about potential solutions to combat the negative impacts of war.

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Consequences of War and Militarism

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  1. Consequences of War and Militarism Martin Donohoe

  2. Outline • The history and epidemiology of war • Nuclear weapons • Chemical weapons • Biological weapons

  3. Outline • Economic and environmental consequences of militarism and war • Health consequences of militarism and war • Contemporary conflicts • Afghanistan, Iraq, “War on terror” • Solutions

  4. History of War • Violent conflict ubiquitous in the animal kingdom: • Interspecies conflict – food, territory • Intraspecies conflict – food, territory, mates (usually not directly fatal) • Violence among non-human primates • Gorilla infanticide • Chimps vs. Bonobos

  5. Origins of War • Foragers vs. Agriculturalists • Agriculture • Hierarchical society • Private property • Money • Subjugation of women • Infectious/chronic diseases

  6. Origins of War • Violence Today • Link with poverty, oppression, fueled by desire for wealth/power • Familial vs. Societal • Gun culture • Media Violence • Glorification of militarism

  7. Militarism • The deliberate extension of military objectives and rationale into shaping the culture, politics and economics of civilian life so that war and the preparation for war is normalized, and the development and maintenance of strong military institutions is prioritized • An excessive reliance on military power and the threat of force in pursuing policy goals in international relations

  8. Militarism • Positively correlated with: • Conservatism • Nationalism • Religiosity • Patriotism • Authoritarianism

  9. Militarism • Negatively correlated with: • Respect for civil liberties • Tolerance of dissent • Democratic principles • Sympathy and welfare toward the troubled and poor • Foreign aid for poorer nations • Subverts other societal interests (health, environment, education, social programs)

  10. History of war • 10,000 yrs ago – agriculture • Stable populations, division of labor, warrior class • 3500 yrs ago – bronze weapons and armor • 2200 yrs ago – iron • 1900 yrs ago – widespread use of horses

  11. History of war • Ninth Century China - bombs developed • Thirteenth Century China – rockets • Forgotten until the 19th Century • 1783 – Balloon • Montgolfier brothers • Prussian general JCG Heyne – used for bombing

  12. History of War • 1803-1814 (Napoleonic Wars): English General Henry Shrapnel fills cannonballs with bullets and exploding charges to increase killing capacity • 1903 – Wright brothers/Kitty Hawk – airplane • 20th Century – nuclear submarines, predator and other drones, weaponization of Arctic/space

  13. History of War • Belief that each new invention would eliminate warfare • Instead, increased casualties, killing at a distance

  14. Epidemiology of Warfare • Deaths in war: • 17th Century = 19/million population • 18th Century = 19/million population • 19th Century = 11/million population • 20th Century = 183/million population • Increasing casualties to civilians • 85-90% in 20th Century (vs. 10% late 19th Century)

  15. War Deaths, 1945-2010

  16. Contemporary War Deaths

  17. Worldwide Violence (2013) • 526,000 killed by armed violence/yr • 396,000 intentional homicides • 55,000 direct conflict deaths • 54,000 unintentional homicides • 21,000 killed during legal interventions • 7.9 violent deaths/100,000 persons/yr

  18. Gun Violence • U.S. death toll for all wars from the Revolutionary War to Afghanistan: 1.2 million (Congressional Research Service) • Number killed by firearms since 1968 (suicides, homicides, and accidental shootings): 1.4 million (CDC)

  19. Gun Violence • Americans own 265-300 million guns (#1 in world in privately owned firearms) • Almost ½ of world’s civilian-owned firearms • Nearly ½ stored improperly in homes with children • Average gun-owning household has 8.2 guns (doubled over last 20 yrs) • ½ owned by only 3% of population (avg 17 guns each)

  20. Gun Violence • 276 active militias (2016) • 40 states prohibit or limit paramilitary training and unofficial military forces, yet no known cases of laws ever being enforced against private militias

  21. Gun Violence • 33,000 deaths/yr due to firearm-related violence, suicides, and accidents (highest among industrialized countries) • Every day in U.S.: 31 homicides, 55 suicides, 2 unintentional shootings involving guns • 84,000 injuries annually

  22. Gun Violence • US firearm homicide rate 25X higher/suicide rate 8X higher than in other industrialized countries • Direct + indirect societal costs = $230 billion/yr

  23. Gun Violence • FL, MI, and MT have passed laws limiting doctors’ speech/prohibiting counseling re firearms (FL law overturned by Appeals Court [2017], others tied up in courts) • ¼ of physicians do not feel it is their responsibility to address gun ownership with patients • CDC prohibited from studying gun violence using federal funds since 1990s

  24. Gun Violence • Access to firearms increases the risk of being a victim of homicide • Women are especially at risk of homicide when a firearm is present • Access to firearms greatly increases the risk of suicide • Firearms are not very effective (if at all effective) at deterring crime

  25. Legacies of Colonial Exploitation • Christopher Columbus’ log entry upon meeting the Arawaks of the Bahamas: “They…brought us…many…things…They willingly traded everything they owned…They do not bear arms…They would make fine servants…With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”

  26. Legacies of Colonial Exploitation • Winston Churchill (speaking in favor of RAF’s “experimental” bombing of Iraqis in 1920s, which killed 9,000 people with 97 tons of bombs): “I am strongly in favor of using poisoned gas against uncivilized tribes to spread a lively terror…against recalcitrant Arabs as an experiment”

  27. Legacies of Colonial Exploitation • Cecil Rhodes (Rhodesia, Rhodes Scholarship, DeBeers Mining Company): “We must find new lands from which we can easily obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit the cheap slave labour that is available from the natives of the colonies. The colonies would also provide a dumping ground for the surplus goods produced in our factories.”

  28. Contemporary Wars • 250 wars in the 20th Century • Incidence of war rising since 1950 • Most conflicts within poor states • Over 30 separate civil wars currently underway • Most involve U.S.-supplied weapons

  29. War Deaths • Revolutionary War: 25,000 • Civil War: 625,000 • World War I: 17 million • World War II: 60 million • Korean War: 2.9 million • Vietnam War: 3.8 million

  30. Vietnam War • US dropped the equivalent of one 500 lb. bomb on every person in Vietnam • Vietnam War: 1.5 to 3 million Vietnamese casualties; 58,000 American • More US soldiers died of suicide after Vietnam than died in combat during the war. • Gulf War I: U.S. planted one land mine for every Iraqi citizen

  31. War Deaths • Iran-Iraq War: 700,000 • Soviet War in Afghanistan: 1.5 million • Second Congo War: 3.8 million • Second Sudanese Civil War: 1.9 million

  32. War Deaths (as of 7/15) • Second Iraq War: • 4,497 U.S. soldiers • Approximately 18,000 Iraqi military • Estimates of civilian deaths range from 150,000 violent deaths to 1 million deaths • U.S. Afghan War: • Over 2,000 U.S. soldiers; 1,200 coalition forces • Over 20,000 civilians

  33. Contemporary Wars • WW II: first war with more battle deaths than deaths from other causes, such as accidents, disease, and infections • 72 million lives lost in 20th Century wars, another 52 million through genocides • 190 million deaths in 20th Century directly or indirectly related to war

  34. War Deaths (1899-2014)

  35. Child Soldiers • Use of child soldiers by 19 countries • Despite 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act, U.S. still provides aid to some of these

  36. Child Soldiers • U.S. JROTC: • Total enrollment: 560,000 • “Youth development program” per Pentagon • “One of the best recruiting devices we could have” – Defense Secretary William Cohen, 2000) • Costs taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars • Military recruiters have access to students • Students, parents must actively opt out

  37. Wars Promoted Through Militarism • Military buildups • Exceptionalism • Imperialism • Glorification of war • Unrealistic expectations

  38. Consequences of War Deaths, injuries, physical and psychological sequelae Collapse of health care system affecting those with acute and chronic illnesses Famine

  39. Consequences of War • 65 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide • 21 million refugees (50% are children under 18) • 28 million internally displaced persons • Over 1 million asylum seekers • Approximately ¾ of world’s refugees are hosted by developing countries

  40. Consequences of War • Environmental degradation • Augments global warming, which Pentagon calls an immediate national security threat • Increasing poverty and debt • All lead to recurrent cycles of violence

  41. Atomic Weapons - History • Hiroshima, August 6, 1945 • “The day that humanity started taking its final exam” – Buckminster Fuller • 15 kiloton bomb, 140,000 deaths • Nagasaki, August 9, 1945 • 22 kiloton bomb, 70,000 casualties • Hydrogen bomb exploded at Bikini Atoll (1,000 times stronger than Hiroshima weapon) - 1954

  42. The Hiroshima Bomb

  43. Atomic Explosion

  44. Atomic Weapons – Other Victims • Hundreds of thousands of hibakusha – atomic bomb survivors • 1054 U.S. nuclear tests since 1940s, 331 in atmosphere

  45. Atomic Weapons – Other Victims 80,000 cancers (15,000 fatal) in US citizens as a result of fallout from atmospheric testing NCI/CDC Thousands of illnesses and deaths, higher CA risk in 600,000 former employees - DOE

  46. Atomic Weapons Today Approximately 17,300 nuclear weapons in at least 9 countries Down from over 71,000 at height of Cold War 4,300 active U.S./Russian warheads today 1,800 on hair-trigger alert Several thousand megatons (100,000 Hiroshimas)

  47. Atomic Weapons Today • Vastly redundant arsenal • 150-200 weapons adequate to destroy all major urban centers in Russia • U.S. planning to spend $250 billion on new nuclear weapons and delivery systems over the next few decades • Reliable estimates put likely cost at $1 trillion

  48. Atomic Weapons Today Accidental intermediate-sized launch of weapons from a single Russian submarine would immediately kill 6.8 million Americans in 8 cities

  49. Nuclear Weapons – Oops! • Pentagon: 32 nuclear weapons accidents since 1950 • GAO: 233 • Since 1950, 10 nuclear weapons lost and never recovered • All laying on seabed, potentially leaking radioactivity

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