Assignment #9 - Megan Ewing - War is Complicated

War is a nasty business. Everyone knows that. But, I think there is a time for war when a country crosses a certain line. However, in these instances, war is the lesser of two evils and not necessarily morally correct. For instance, when Nazi Germany committed the genocide of Jews, Gypsies, and other minorities, other countries had a responsibility to step in. There are also instances when war is petty and based more on differences between leaders than atrocities committed by them. In World War I, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo. After this, relationships between monarchs in Europe exploded into an all-out war between the most powerful countries of the age. This war was completely unnecessary and caused the death of tens of millions of people purely based on old alliances between nations. In any situation possible, an alternative such as embargo should be used to change a country’s actions before another country declares war.