Quizzes & Puzzles2 mins ago
War
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?
Answers
No best answer has yet been selected by ll_billym. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.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.
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.
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.