About this Afghan War..It wasn't the only war that was a "mistake"...

[Stuart G]

What about the American Indian War?
Was ...The Civil War ..lots of fun for everyone?...I wonder if that one could have been avoided..(Lincoln tried)
Think about World War I...What if Germany & Russia did not participate?...How many lives would have been saved?
.....I remember reading that those who started it thought WWI would be over in a few weeks or months..
......Those who started it...didn't know about ..."Trench Warfare"...or "Machine Guns".
......Those who started it ...had no idea about death and destruction that it would cause...

.....That is the major reason Stalin made a deal with Hitler....to avoid another great war...How did that one work out
for Mr. Stalin?......War is generally a mistake...Yes, the U.S.A. in WWII helped prevent a disaster ..YES...I guess that was
worth it...

[left-of-center2012]

1. Two points

I'm not sure how the American civil war could have been avoided unless you just let the Southern States leave the United States.
Southern troops did fire on federal troops at the beginning of the war, which started it.

And the question, what if Germany had not 'participated' in World war I --
It is my understanding that they started World war I.

[Dial H For Hero]

2. The first declaration of war in WW1 was actually Austria-Hungry against Serbia on July 28, 1914.

[marie999]

3. The Civil War was a mistake on the South's side.

Lincoln hated slavery, but he felt that he could not do anything about it because he felt it was legal according to the Constitution. In that case, it would have taken 2/3 of both Houses of Congress and 3/4 of the states to make slavery illegal.