Long before September 11, I pondered the definitio...

2006-03-18T19:22:00.000-08:00

Long before September 11, I pondered the definition, or threshold, for "civil war." The media used many different terms for different levels and scales of conflict. Why were only some "civil wars?"

After long thought and observation, I discovered that the use of artillery is the threshold for undeniable "civil war." That is not the same as the formal definition you cite. Nonetheless, there have probably been some similarities in the past. Artillery pieces are not as accessible to little rabbles as they are to highly organized, wealthier groups. Also, artillery doesn't move as swiftly as small arms do. You need to control at least the little plot of land where your cannon is.

That gets to another matter; what is artillery? Rocket propelled grenades do not seem to make the media switch to calling a matter a "civil war." After studying that, the answer would appear to be mortars. That's a little surprising since they are still fairly mobile. Perhaps, though, that is because arms exporters do not pass mortars out lightly. Perhaps it is simply De Jure v. De Facto.

Comments on Brian Stokes: The Intermittent Super-genius: How do we tell if Iraq is actually having a civil ...

Long before September 11, I pondered the definitio...