Who comes up with this nonsense anyway. Here is only a small sample of why a war was started in the last 100 or so years. Notice how many began because of religion. The old wives' tales continue, my goodness!
1886-1908
8,000,000
Control of colonial profit and power base.
Feudal Russia
1900-1917
3,500,000
(figures vary)
Political control.
Turkish purges
(cross-over with the Russian struggle and World War I)
1900-1923
5,000,000
Ottoman Empire collapse. Political control struggle. Islamic/ethnic factors play an important role.
First World War
1914-1918
15,000,000
Balance of power.
Russian Civil War
1917-1922
9,000,000
Political control.
Soviet Union, Stalin Regime
1924-1953
20,000,000
Political control.
China Nationalist Era
1928-1937
3,000,000
Political control.
Second World War
1937/38-1945
55,000,000
Balance of power. Expansionism.
Sino-Japanese War
1937-1945
21,000,000
Expansion.
Yugoslavia
(includes WWII)
1941-1987
2-2,500,000
Political control. Ethnic and religious issues.
Post-WWII German Expulsions from Eastern Europe
1945-1948
1.8-5,000,000
(figures vary)
Post-war policies. Retributions/Soviet and Eastern European control.
Chinese Civil War
1945-1949
2,500,000
Political control.
People’s Republic of China (Mao Zedong)
1949-1975
40,000,000
Political control.
North Korean Regime
1948-
1.7-3,000,000
(figures vary)
Political control.
Korean War
1950-1953
2,800,000 (figures vary)
Political control.
Second Indochina War
1960-1975
3-4,000,000
Political control.
Ethiopia
(includes famine)
1962-1992
1,500,000
Political control. Ethnic issues came into play.
Pakistan-Bangladesh Genocide
1971
1.7-3,000,000
(figures vary)
Political/economic, and social control over East Pakistan. Islam and Hindu ethnic/religious issues.
Khmer Rouge
1975-1978
2,500,000
Political control.
Afghanistan
1979-2001
1,800,000
Political control. Soviet expansion. Islamic issues.
Second Sudanese War
1983-
2,000,000
Historical ethnic struggles. Islamic religious issues play a key role. Resource control and usage.
Kinshasa Congo
1998-
3,800,000
Political control and debasement. Ethnic strife. Resource control.