War

[ll_billym]

What constitutes a war or civil war?

On the news it's reported that Iraq is "slipping into civil war", what has to happen for Iraq to actually be at civil war? Is there a specific event or is it just a general concensus among the world media?

Is civil war formally declared?

[Drisgirl]

Civil war in simplified terms means in-fighting without external influences.

I dare say you will get a more elaborate answer in the morning - best I can do at moment.

[Aschenbach]

Technically the wars seen today are 'armed conflicts' as there hasn't been a formal declaration of war (civil or between states) since it was banned under the U.N. Charter of 1945.

For example, the United States Government referred to the Korean War as a "police action", and the British Government was very careful to use the term "armed conflict" instead of "war" during the Falklands War in 1982 to comply with the letter of international law. Sometimes the term "war" will not be used in order to circumvent national constitutions which restrict the power of the executive to wage war without the agreement of other branches of government.

The distinction between a "civil war" and a "revolution" or other name is arbitrary, and determined by usage.

[johnlambert]

There is nothing civil about war, trust me I've been involved in 4

[Loosehead]

Civil war can occur when 2 or more major groups have conflicting ideas about running the country. Roundheads and Cavaliers for example.

In the case of Iraq, there are 2 main factions vying for control, the Sunni Mullims, Saddams old mob and the Shiite Muslims. Without going into detail they are both determined to control the country, the only thing stopping them fighting it out is the allied forces. There are also some kurds but they seem to be staying out of it at the moment.

[Loosehead]

Oh to answer your last question.

Civil war cannot be formally declared because none of the factions accepts the validity of the other, effectively both sides are stateless in the eyes of each other.

[jno]

you could argue that the British government was involved in civil war with the IRA, which is why they tried to pursue it through 'constabulary' rather than soldiers - to insist it was a mere police matter, crime rather than war. It's open to debate whether this was true or not.

[jno]

oops, posted too soon. I was about to say that the USA, for the same reason, will probably never admit there's civil war in Iraq, preferring terms like 'unrest' or 'extremism'. This will also be debatable.

[Dom Tuk]

If you are the good uns and GOD is on your side then it is a just war bordering on a crusade.

If you are the bad uns and your god is meaningless it is a jihad.

The rest is all stupid fannying around unless we decide that we want to get involved, then it is either a skirmish, an unrest or a full blown civil war.

[Stu in USA]

The US Civil War is often refered to as "The War between the States" especially in the Southern States, so have to agree with most of the previous postings.