...Rashad AbdulAzeem Research Paper ENG 101 6383 The Costs of War The history of war in America is rich and often causes more harm than seen at first glance. The effect is greater, in its reason, costs in death, and costs economically. In this paper I will examine the causes of and effects of war. I will try and expand on the question of whether it is needed in such a time man is grossly more able to avoid it. I will try and examine who profits from it and who does not, and then find a reasonable alternative to a seemingly repetitive process. A basic look at the history of war from the beginning of man brings much to light. Wars have always had a history of rewarding the soldier directly. There was war and there was the booty of war. The soldier had always directly benefited, today however is different the soldiers do not obtain wealth from war, the majority of the profits lie in the hands of a few who will more than likely never experience the journey that follows. In many ways the spending that went into the Civil War helped to spawn the modern corporation. This was something troubled President Abraham Lincoln near the end of the Civil War. In 1864 he wrote a letter to Col. William F. Elkins, “We may congratulate ourselves that this cruel war is nearing its end. It has cost a vast amount of treasure and blood. . . . It has indeed been a trying hour for the Republic; but I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves...
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...Combat High In Sebastian Junger’s essay Combat High, he uses many techniques to effectively explain and support his arguments. He does this through his vivid and detailed descriptions of his experiences and tone of concern which makes him a credible writer. The reader is able to grasp an understanding of the techniques Junger utilizes to engage the reader and support his argument. In his essay, you can clearly establish where ethos, logos and pathos are being utilized to support his argument. In the following paragraphs we will pinpoint his use of these techniques to strengthen his argument and main points. Sebastian purposely chooses to begin with his very vivid and detailed recollections of being on a hilltop with soldiers engaging in combat. He does this to strengthen his credibility as a writer and establishes an ethical approach to his argument in the rest of his essay. He begins with “Most of the fighting was at four or five hundred yards, so no one ever got to see- or had to deal with- the effects of all that firepower on the human body” (1). This instantly sets the tone for Sebastian’s essay. You can see his beliefs and stand point are challenged being at the hilltop with these American Soldiers and it causes him to question the ethics of the soldiers. For example, he writes “They watched until he stopped moving, and then they called in that he’d died. Everyone on Restrepo cheered. That night I couldn’t sleep, and I crept out of my bunk and went and sat on the...
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...One big questions that linger in the mind of American Citizens is, was the Vietnam War worth the Cost? The Vietnam War is one of the most controversial wars in the United State of America’s history. The Vietnam War was started when South Vietnam seceded from communist North Vietnam. When North Vietnam attacked South Vietnam this resulted in a large war causing the US to get involved which was a huge mistake. The war resulted in hundreds of thousands dying. There are several reasons why we should not have gotten involved. The first of these reasons on why the Vietnam War was not worth the cost is what the cost on America was. When America entered the war mass anti-war riots broke out over the country as many people were opposed to our military...
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...The gulf region & Gulf war The Persian Gulf is located in Western Asia. The Arab states of the Persian Gulf consist of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman (Appendix 1a). The six nations are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The GCC aims to boost economic cooperation between members and to guard against any threat from neighbouring states and from Islamic extremism (BBC 2012). The EU has a strong relationship with the GCC, ever since they signed a Cooperation Agreement in 1988. Its objective is to contribute to strengthening stability in a region of strategic importance and to facilitate political and economic relations. It therefore aims at broadening the economic and technical cooperation including cooperation in energy, industry, trade and services, agriculture etc. (Europa, 2012) Therefore when the Persian Gulf War took place on the 2nd August 1990 – 28th February 1991 the EU got involved, however they did not get involved until 17th January 1991. The War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a coalition of 34 nations which were assembled by the United States; including Britain, France, Egypt and Saudi Arabia (Full list Appendix 1B). Iraqi troops began the invasion of Kuwait). During the period of the Gulf War the European Economic Community (EEC) was in power, the majority of the aims and objectives where based on how they could improve the economy. The cost of the gulf war was calculated by the United States Congress to be...
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...Vietnam War. The human and financial costs of the war were becoming increasingly high, it is suggestable that this was a main factor in the withdrawal of US troops from the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War imposed a large human cost for the US. In the Tet Offensive of 1968, 10,000 US and South Vietnamese troops were killed and, despite the fact that the death toll was exponentially increasing, there were half a million US soldiers in Vietnam by the end of Johnson’s presidency. Also, the average age of a US soldier in the Vietnam War was only 19 years, the straining impact that the War took upon the youth of the country only gave US citizens more reasons to dislike the war. With there being extensive media coverage following the War, it did not take long before the news of the large number of people being killed reached home- this led to a lack of support back home. A prime example of this lack of support is the events that took place at the Kent State Shooting of 1974 where 4 university students were killed by federal officers in an anti-war protest. Further evidence of anti-war attitudes is the high number of seminars, rallies and speeches held at Universities questioning the US’s reasons for being involved within the Vietnam War in the late 1960s. These events highlighted the lack of support being gained at home to the US government; it was made clear that they were having to tackle a war at home as well as in Vietnam. Therefore, the initial human cost of the Vietnam War impacted...
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...On Combat: Grossman and Christensen Self development is one of the critical variables in the four domains of Army Leadership Development. In an effort to help expand the contexts related to self development, Grossman and Christensen’s On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and Peace, add strong information to self development that would be useful to all military and police personnel. Picking up where his earlier work, On Killing, left off, Grossman and Christensen examine all facets of deadly combat including preparation/training, the actual moment of conflict and even debriefing at the conclusion of combat. The self development advocated by the authors establishes the true context of being a warrior, which they define as the 1% who protects the 98% from the remaining 1% who would do them harm (Grossman & Christensen 12). Though the work is not infallible, it examines subject matter that many psychologists have traditionally avoided. In addition, it combines psychology and physiology to extend beyond simply combat training and into the realms of healing after combat has occurred. The book is critically divided into four sections: The Physiology of Combat, Perceptual Distortion, Mental Attitude and Aftermath. Each of the four dimensions offer elements of self development that are useful to the reader. The first sections explains to the reader exactly what occurs physically during combat. As the author’s demonstrate, the will to kill another human...
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...1. Complete the following chart to show the human cost to the Great War. Group Estimated Number total number of combatants killed 9 million total number of soldiers wounded 21 million civilians dead from disease, hunger, and other war-related causes possibly 9 million Germany and Russia (casualties) 3.4 million French males between 25 and 35 dead or wounded nearly half Britain and its empire (casualties) 1 million Austria-Hungary (casualties) more than a million Italy (casualties) more than a half a million Ottoman Turks (casualties) possibly 325,000 United States (casualties) almost 120,000 2. Today, the British celebrate November 11 as Remembrance Day. In the United States, November 11 is called Veterans Day. 3. What was the effect of the Great War on the infrastructure of France and Belgium? (Infrastructure refers to a country’s facilities and structures that are required to build industries and move goods in and out of the country. It includes roads, bridges, utilities, water, sewage, etc. An infrastructure is necessary for a productive economy.) The infrastructure in France and Belgium was devastated. Farms, villages, and towns were wrecked. Artillery fire destroyed bridges, railroad tracks, roads, factories, and homes. Many villages were completely wiped out. Whole stretches of land were reduced to barren wastelands. 4. By 1918, the fighting cost Britain and Germany about $10 million an hour. ...
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...War is a harsh reality that the world has had to live with from the beginning of time. It has remained constant through out history and has given human beings an outlet to fight for what they believe in. There are three main areas of emphasis that are talked about frequently in the conversations about war and the history it has created. The first is the definition of war itself and what it actually means to the general public, historian community and to veterans themselves. The second is the costs and benefits that are accompanied with war. You have to also consider the sacrifices and negative impacts that war has had on the world since the beginning of time. Third is the history and recollection of what has happened in the past due to war and if the stories, information, and facts can actually be trusted or if they are just a perception of what happened on those many battlefields through out history. War has always been a constant through out history and will continue to be one far into the future due to the fact that it creates innovation, causes sacrifice and creates history that will shape the world we live in for as long as anyone could imagine. It is hard to define what war is in a single sentence and I also believe that it can be given many different meanings depending on what context you are looking at it in and whom you may ask for a definition. The definition provided in the course material is: war is the legal condition that defines the nature of conflict between...
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...Summary Of Price Wars Product & Price Strategy Summary Of Price Wars Product & Price Strategy Summary Of Price Wars: How To Avoid The Death Spiral Of Permanently Lost Profit, Declining Value And Heightened Price Sensitivity Why to avoid price wars * Reducing prices is not a sound strategy unless you have a 30%+ cost advantage. * Slashing prices is the easiest strategy to copy. * Competitors respond in a day or two to any price move. * A 10% drop in US cigarette prices would need to lead to a 50% increase in volume (assuming unchanged costs) for Trading Profit to be unchanged. This implies a price elasticity of 5. The US Tobacco Policy Research Study Group (which is anti-tobacco) estimates the elasticity as 0 .2 to 1 .4. * Price psychology and price recall show the lowest price is remembered longest. Therefore the low prices in a price war influence a consumer's perception of what is a "reasonable" price long after the war ends. * Consumers become sensitive to price at the expense of value and benefits. * Even if a weak competitor succumbs (and the regulators/courts do not construe illegal predatory pricing) the capacity often stays. Preventing and avoiding price wars should have a high strategic priority. Price wars destroy huge chunks of company and industry profits, and rarely provide a business with sustainable advantage. They undermine the consumer base and seldom alleviate an industry's structural or capacity problems. What really...
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...How to Fight a Price War By Akshay R. Rao, Mark E. Bergen and Scott Davis IN THE BATTLE TO CAPTURE THE CUSTOMER companies use a wide range of tactics to ward off competitors. Increasingly, price is the weapon of choice – and frequently the skirmishing degenerates into a price war. Creating low price appeal is often the goal, but the result of one retaliatory price slashing after another is often a precipitous decline in industry profits. Look at the airline price wars of 1992. When American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, and other U.S. carriers went toe-to-toe in matching and exceeding one another’s reduced fares, the result was record volumes of air travel-and record losses. Some estimates suggest that the overall losses suffered by the industry that year exceed the combined profits for the entire industry from its inception. Price wars can create economically devastating and psychologically debilitating situations that take an extraordinary toll on an individual, a company, and industry profitability. No matter who wins, the combatants all seem to end up worse off than before they joined the battle. And yet, price wars are becoming increasingly common and uncommonly fierce. Consider the following two examples: • In July 1999, Sprint announced a nighttime long-distance rate of 5 cents per minute. In August 1999, MCI matched Sprint’s off-peak rate. Later that month, AT & T acknowledged that revenue from its consumer long-distance business was falling,...
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...Business Combinations. IFRS 3 requires the application of the acquistion method under which the accountant must be able to identify which of the entities involved in the combination is the acquirer, determine the cost of the combination, and allocate this cost to the assets and liabilities acquired. The latter are recognised at fair value as a result of this process. The residual amount in these calculations is classified as goodwill or gain on bargain purchase. Understanding the nature of goodwill is critical to understanding how to account for it. With the existence of the accounting standard on impairment of assets, goodwill is not required to be amortised. If a gain arises, current income is increased to recognise a bargain purchase. With the release of an Exposure Draft detailing proposed changes to IFRS 3, an understanding of the areas of change and the philosophy behind the changes will assist in being prepared for changes when they occur. 2. DEMONSTRATION PROBLEMS Demonstration Problem 1: Business combination with 3 entities involved On 1 January 2004, Maori Ltd concluded agreements to take over the operations of War Ltd and to acquire the rest of the shares of Canoe Ltd. The balance sheets of the three companies as at that date were: Maori Ltd War Ltd Canoe Ltd Cash $20 000 $ 1 000 $ 12 500 Accounts receivable 35 000 19 000 30 000 Inventory 52 000 26 500 40 000 Property, plant & equipment (net) 280 500 149 500 107 500 Shares in Canoe Ltd (15 000...
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...Robert Leckie’s book, Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II, is entirely about one of World War II’s most brutally fought battles. On April 1, 1945, the U.S. invaded Japan, attacking the island of Okinawa with 540,000 U.S. Army and Marines, and 1,600 ships. “ L Day” was the official name for this day. The L stood for “Landing,” but the Americans who invaded the Hagushi Beaches that day without any trouble from the Japanese, called it “Love Day.” This battle was the last battle of World War II and lasted a whopping eighty-three days. This invasion greatly outnumbered D-Day in weapons and in men. Former Marine and Pacific War veteran, Robert Leckie describes this battle in depth, not only telling you about the Americans, but showing the Japanese side as well. This book clearly informs the readers of the bloodshed and techniques that were used throughout the entire battle. From the American soldiers struggling to adapt to the new and unfamiliar terrain, to the Japanese kamikaze attacks, this book successfully sheds light on the individuals who fought in this epic battle. Many people over time have argued that this battle was unnecessary because the U.S. could’ve just dropped the atomic bombs on Japan to end the war. However, Leckie is able to show the strategic importance of this battle. Okinawa was the entrance to Japan. If America successfully invaded Okinawa, then the Americans would only be 375 miles from Kyusha, which is one of the home islands of Japan. This would provide...
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...inquiry into the causes, conduct and cost of war By Andrew Grice, Political Editor Thursday, 18 December 2008 [pic] PA Prime Minister Gordon Brown lays a wreath at the Basra Airbase war memorial in southern Iraq Politicians from across the political divide will today demand an inquiry into the cost, causes and conduct of Britain's operations in Iraq as Gordon Brown returns home after announcing the final withdrawal of troops from the country by July. Opposition parties believe Mr Brown may allow the long-delayed inquiry to begin next summer but that it will not report until after the next general election, which could be as late as June 2010. Mr Brown will make a statement on Iraq to Parliament today. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) told The Independent that the cost of British operations in Iraq since the 2003 invasion has been £7.836bn – the equivalent of £3.7m a day. Critics say that would be enough to fund 25,200 teachers for 10 years and to build 107 new hospitals. The final bill will increase before the pullout of the remaining 4,100 troops. Some defence experts also say the Government's figure understates the true cost of the Iraq operation. The MoD admits that it does not include payments to the families of the 178 servicemen killed or the cost of treating the injured. Some experts claim the official figure does not cover the wear and tear on military equipment, but the MoD insists that has been taken into account. Day-to-day costs such as servicemen's pay is met from...
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...The Iraq War was Unjustified The Iraq War was Unjustified There are many reasons why the war Iraq was unjustified. Until today, Iraq has not been found to have weapons of mass destruction. There are beliefs that former President George W. Bush simply waged war on Iraq because of their oil. Iraq as a country and the former President Saddam Hussein had no link to al-Qaeda terrorist group. The United States congress, based on wrong intelligence from the Bush’s administration agreed unanimously to go to war with Iraq, despite the fact that the Unites Nations disagreed with the decision. Because of the decision to wage war on Iraq, The United States lost most of its allies. “A war on Iraq for the purpose of “regime change” would not be a legal war under international law. Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter states: “All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purpose of the United Nations.” (Miller, 2003). On September 11, 2001, two planes crashed into the World Trade Center. Many Americans died because of the deadly attack. It was one of the deadliest attacks on U.S soil. One plane crashed into part of the pentagon, and the another plane crashed into an open field. Based on these attacks by the al-Qaeda terrorist group, President Bush declared war on the Taliban in Afghanistan in an attempt...
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...Americans love a war. It is in our nature. We in this nation, love the notion of a contest, a challenge to be bested, and as such there is no greater challenge than war. With any hot-button issue to arise on a national level, it can be certain that a war will be declared. In the 1950s, Senator McCarthy declared a war on communism, in the 1970s, President Nixon declared a war on drugs and in 1964, President Johnson declared a war on poverty. The driving factor in this war was to “be an investment in the most valuable of our resources-the skills and strengths of our people. And in the future, as in the past, this investment will return its cost many-fold to our entire economy” (Patterson Chapter 8, Location 1918, paragraph 1). Has this been the case? Has an “investment” in the nation’s poor and the provision of a federally-administered safety-net contributed to overall economic stability, and moreover, what is the cost of this war? In analyzing cost, a threefold approach must be taken: budgetary, final and opportunity cost. With any decision to spend, opportunity cost must be analyzed. Opportunity cost is the trade-off accepted for pursuing one course of action over another. Final cost is analyzed as the eventual benefit received by the recipient, or in other words, the final value of the benefit. The budgetary cost is all funds allocated to specific programs. In 1953, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) was established to consolidate the plethora...
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