ISIL: a clear and present danger to world peace. Since the beginning of 2014—the year in which the world was to mark the one-hundredth anniversary of the start of World War I by leaping headlong into new situations fraught with grave threats for world peace—several regional conflicts have morphed into worldwide concerns. All of these are critical, difficult to solve and risky in that they pose a catalyst for world conflict: the war in Syria, the war in Ukraine, the exchanges of missile fire between the Israeli government and Hamas extremists in the Gaza Strip, all of these have this year shaken the foundations of world peace. But perhaps the most immediate and high-profile of these threats has been the swift rise of the fundamentalist terror organization known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or ISIL. Without a doubt, ISIL is a clear and present danger to world peace and democracy. But it is worthwhile reflecting that it is as much an indirect threat, because of how...
Author Roberto Vivo comments on wars past and present, on the world’s great peacemakers and on the pathway to global peace. His basic philosophy: In a world where 9 out of every 10 victims of armed conflict are civilians, war is no longer a viable political alternative. Indeed, it is the ultimate crime against humanity. If rising generations are to have a future, the key will lie in world peace. War is the pathway to oblivion.