There wouldn't be any war if there were no soldiers. It's that simple.
Overly simplistic to the point of being inaccurate.
Curious. How do you figure? Can you name a single war that was fought without them?
<edit> Just so there's no question as to what we are talking about:
War: War must entail some degree of confrontation using weapons and other military technology and equipment by armed forces employing military tactics and operational art within a broad military strategy subject to military logistics.
Soldier: A soldier is one who fights as part of an organized land-based armed forces.
I'll explain my thinking, as I offered a conclusion without the reasoning before.
It seems like a semantic game. "Soldiers are necessary to fight war, therefore if there are no soldiers, there cannot be war." Semantically and logically, I think the statement is accurate, but I think it loses applicability in the real world. Everyone's goal ostensibly is to end war, but getting rid of soldiers won't end war because soldiers aren't what cause war. To end war, you have to address the root causes: cultural differences, a lack of empathy, the violent tendency of mankind, and nationalistic fervor, among other things, are the root causes of war. Your statement makes it sounds like the cause to effect would be listed as
soldiers ---> war, instead of
the violent tendency of man ---> war. If we eliminated all the soldiers, mankind would not suddenly be peaceful, and the soldiers would return instantly once there is a cause for a new nationalistic fervor.
You are quite correct when you state that soldiers are not the cause of war, but this was not my point. It is also quite true that every human being has the inherent ability to be selfish and despicable. My point is that without the support of the war machine we are extremely limited to the extent of violence and destruction we are capable of inflicting upon others. Now, while you and I, and most everyone, would like to live in peace and see an end put to war once and for all, it is the elite who conspire for and profit from its continued use. While I know it's just a pipe dream and it won't solve all our problems, this is why I'd like to see an end to standing armies, because without them the ability to wage war is extremely diminished.
