Jim

Yes , war is inevitable. John's view , a steady decline in deaths resulting from state sponsored violence, is undeniable but backward looking. It is true only until it is no longer true. Advances in mechanize killing have caused strategist to pause in risk benefit analysis . ( balance of power , MAD) The result is a decline in state sponsored death. But this view presupposes reasoned thought in deciding weather or not to engage the another militarily; the overwhelming majority of military encounters throughout history have been based on miscalculations and deceit. So much for reason.
Our species is interconnected with every other living thing. It seems an absolute that all living thing want to expand territorially, weather kudzu vines in the south or Hitler in Czechoslovakia.