JacobGrimm: One needs to know the real problem in order to solve or affect change. I don't beleive that I know factually what has been going on. The weed has grwon very large and that makes it harder to find the roots. If I was a betting man (and I am on football even thou I tend to lose more than I win) my option would be to eliminate gods and holy books to begin with. Religion is a drum of unification, beaten often, it is used to join more people than one nation can muster on its own, it crosses borders, permeates society globally and makes those 'followers' members of that army of god. You can clearly see it here, the animosity between arabs and christians, no real discussion, no consideration of facts, just rock lobbing. Sadly.
The world needs to shift. Isreal cannot be and need not be, nor do they need borders.
Any real solution to this is to say the least, a momnumental task. The powers that be, who continue to lather rinse and repeat the process are firmly entrenched and hidden behind god.
This god is misused and has been since Sumar where it began.
Even if I am wrong about this, the divisiveness that is present in such a small part of this world and spreads itself out amongst mankind will take years of effort to repair. And if 6000 yrs isn't enough to prove there is no real effort from mankind as a whole, then you would have more hope than I do.
I'm not predicting the end of the world, I don't believe that will happen, nukes, blah blah blah. They've had enough knives and guns for centuries to wipe out the whole earth and have done with it. No, this is not the end, just a continuance oo what those powers are building and sucking from mankind.
Ask yourself, what does war do? What does it accomplish? Who benefits. Surely not its soldiers. Or its citizens. Fuck me, if 4 way stop signs at corners are enough to civilize man, thn the civilazation seems easy. Who does not want man to be civil? The answers would astound you.
The answer to that is the question "agreements made by whom and for whom?"
Two states! Another answer. The state of peace and the state of combat. Choose one. If we can't be peaceful here on this issue we are unwittingly their soldiers, for both sides.
Your comment on religion makes sense. Unfortunately, I think we'd have a better chance of inviting the planet to a worldwide pork Bar-B-Que and beer bash than have religion abolished. Besides, I am fond of the right to practice my own. The point is taken though. Religion is not used for the reasons it was intended (or is it)?
You pose an interesting question about what war does. Off the top of my head I would have to say it creates wealth and removes opposition to a certain group's ideals. I see this as a significant reason why this has lasted for as long as it has in the middle east. Same could be said for parts of Africa. Sad really.