Is it still necessary for nations to maintain military forces? Years ago, military forces were only needed for one main event, and that was to wage war. Some people today believe that in today's day and age, now that there aren't as many full scale wars, that there doesn't need to be a military force. I completely disagree with this, because today, there are many things that need to be fought other than armies. Things such as terrorism, natural disasters, famine and serious crime are all things that the military is involved in.
Military forces also act as peacekeeping units in third world countries where there are civil wars going on and religious sects of people fighting each other. And although the opposition may believe that we should just help set up a government, it is often not possible because of the volatility of the region. The members of the armed forces often have to come because the government is so unstable they have nothing in place to protect innocent people. They"re also called to help stop violence from even starting and to bring some enforcement to, they can be looked upon as an international police force that deal with dire circumstances.
We need military force to maintain a deterrent against "would-be" tyrants. Cowardly persecutors want nothing more than for us to feel safe and let our guard down. If we didn't maintain military forces, leaders like Saddam Hussein would do whatever they pleased and the safety and freedom of many innocent people would be jeopardized. For instance, without the police, what's stopping the murderers, thieves, rapists, and vandals from continuing these crimes? If there's no consequences or institutions in place to stop the spread of this tyranny it will never be under control.
The opposition will say that nowadays military is needed much less for war, which is fortunately true. But in the event that a conflict cannot be solved by words, it is very important that we have armed forces to protect the freedom and security of the people of the world.
