The history of warfare began with the written word, but its prehistory can not be ignored. The earliest stone tools that have been found were obviously not for war, but for hunting, so it can be assumed that the original cave man did not battle. The time of the cave men were times of violence between man and animal, but not man vs. fellow man. At the beginning of the New Stone Age, however, there was a revolution in warfare weapons. Bows were produced though the art from the period does not portray any examples of war. Over time, more and more weapons were created, and man became engaged in warfare. The Sumerians showed the first weapons that somewhat resemble modern weapons, and Sumer is thought to be the first with long-distance campaigns, such as the epic story of Gilgamesh.

Since the times of the Stone Age and the wars of Sumer, the art of war has progressed rapidly. It seems that at any given moment, a war is being fought somewhere in the world. The ancient philosopher Thucydides once said, "Peace is an armistice in a war that is continuously going on." This appears to be very true. Especially in recent times, peace has been a rare event in the relations between countries and nations.

At this time, it is necessary to ask the question of why men fight. The debate about whether man is violent by nature or is potential for violence often comes up in this discussion. Most agree with the latter of the two opinions. In fact, the Seville Statement, which has gained weighty support, condemns the idea of man being naturally violent. Much investigation has gone into the limbic area of the brain, near the brain stem, where the seat of aggression is believed to be. It is not yet known how aggression is created or stimulated in the brain, only that it is controlled by the lower brain. Like with all genetic inheritances, mutations sometimes occur within the DNA that can liken survival rates among species. Along with the genetic view about aggression, there is also a psychological standpoint. Freud saw aggression as frustration of the sexual drive taken out by the ego. Other ideas of aggression are that it is spurred on by imagination or by territorial problems. All of these theories draw heavily on the work of human and animal behavioral scientists.

Over time, countless philosophers have discussed war or, as Sun Tzu called it, the 'art' of war. Each philosopher has had differing views about war ranging from Plato's thoughts on the Guardians of his ideal state in The Republic to Clausewitz's concern about the economic cost vs. gain of a war in On War. The number of books and plays written about war is incredible, plays such as Lysistrata bring out the humor during warfare while another play also of the ancient times, The Trojan Women portrays the misery and utter aloneness of war.

The history and the future of the United States has been formed by war. Many think that war is a necessary evil; without it, the United States of America might still be dependent on England. This was best put by Winston Churchill, as he said "Nothing is worse than war? Dishonor is worse than war. Slavery is worse than war." The United States' Civil War is a perfect example of Churchill's words. Many died during the Civil War, and brothers fought each other. However, today within the United States, slavery has been abolished. Needless to say, the idea of slavery and racial discrimination is a constant battle, but now the battle has more or less confined itself to paper instead of to bloody fields throughout the country. War has caused much progress for many people and their nations, but it has also caused terrible pain and destruction. As Plato said, "Only the dead have seen the end of war." It seems that war is a never-ending cycle throughout history, with only short periods of calmness. It is doubtful that there will ever be absolute peace for all nations across the world, but that does not mean that we can not attempt to breed peace.

In Slaughter House 5, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., the main character was attempting to write a novel about his experiences during the air raids in Dresden. He was told that writing an anti-war book is like writing an anti-glacier book, it is useless because nothing can stop it from occurring. This may be so; war can not be stopped. However, war should still be discussed so that people know what is happening around the world.

Using this web site, you will be able to learn about wars that are going on across the world, and which countries are involved. By becoming aware of the actions of other countries as well as our own, we are taking the first step towards educating ourselves about war. We need to learn from the past so as to prevent problems in the future.