The Unforeseen Consequences of War

History demonstrates that virtually every major military conflict has had lasting repercussions that were either unforeseen or completely ignored. Let's look at just a few examples.

When Abraham Lincoln launched his unconstitutional war against the South in 1861, he did so with the idealistic goal of preserving the Union. 620,000 American lives later, he finally accomplished his mission. He also succeeded in destroying states' rights and establishing the kind of strong, centralized national government that our Founding Fathers warned us about. Today, that government continues to grow more powerful and more intrusive.

U.S. involvement in the War to End All Wars may have saved England and France from military defeat, but all of Europe was plunged into ruin. This helped fuel the rampant fires of fascism, setting the stage for another global conflict.

During World War II, we sided with Stalin against Hitler and ended up winning the war in Europe. We also defeated Imperial Japan by becoming the first and only nation to ever use nuclear weapons in combat. But even our victories had consequences. The Soviet Union grew to be a much bigger threat than Nazi Germany ever posed, and our use of the atomic bomb marked the beginning of a furious international arms race that brought us to the edge of nuclear war less than 20 years later.

10, 15 or 20 years from now, what new danger will we have to confront as a result of our "war on terror"? In our rush to protect the present, is it possible that we are jeopardizing our future?