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There are numerous reasons why countries go to war and they are reasons that could very well be handled diplomatically or through other means other than war. Some of the reasons without writing a book here are: (1) territorial; (2) religious; (3) natural disasters and (4) economical. These are four that I picked as I either learned about them in school or continue to read about war and the causes throughout my life.

The first reason is territorial. What I look at here are two areas, both in the Middle East. One is the War of Independence for Israel in 1948. This war was fought by the Jews of Israel and their Arab counterparts because the Arabs living in Israel (particularly the Palestinians) did not want a portion of the country, they wanted it all. The United Nations was willing to partition the land between the Jews and the Arabs and the Jews were just as willing to accept the partitioning of the land so that they could claim that they have returned home as prophesied in the Holy Bible. Many would lead you to believe that the war was religious based, but really it was all about territory. Once Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948, it was attacked by five Arab armies from neighboring countries. Since that day, Israel has been in a territorial struggle not just with its neighbors and the Palestinians but with world opinion as it continues to hold on to the land that is biblically theirs. The second war that fits this category is the First Gulf War when Iraq invaded Kuwait. This was again not a religious struggle, but one country claiming that the other was part of the over all land of Iraq. This war caused the United States under a United Nations coalition of allied armies to aid in the "rescue" of Kuwait and free that country from Iraqi tyranny.

The second reason is religious. Since the beginning of time, countries went to war over the fact that one religion would reign over another. The belief system of one's country reigned supreme and when the other country would not submit to the other, then it would likely be taken over by the other and the defeated country would be assimilated into the other's belief system. Since the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Christians and the Muslims especially went to war with one another for centuries. For the longest of time, war between the two religions would be fought over the control of Jerusalem. The Muslims would win, then the Christians would return again to reclaim Jerusalem as theirs. This is probably

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