On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace, Dr. Kagan is a classical scholar who hopes to get politicians and statesmen to understand history so as not to repeat it. He reminds that this was the intention of Thucydides of ancient Greece who wrote a history of the Peloponnesian Wars for "those who wish to have a clear understanding both of events in the past and of those in the future which will, in all human likelihood, happen again in the same or a similar way."

His book starts with the Peloponnesian War of the fifth century B.C.- -the subject of a four-volume history Kagan finished in 1987--and ends with the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. He also analyzes the Second Punic War of 218 to 201 B.C., World War I, and World War II. War usually arrives over long distances and long stretches of time. For instance, in 226 B.C. Rome was

"Interview with Secretary of State, James Baker." Frontline WGBH Educational Foundation. PBS, College Station. 9-10 Jan. 1996.

In conclusion, this is an issue that deals with politics, uneven distribution of resources, and nationalism, and will take a great effort to come to an agreement. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a "battle" that has a long history that will continue till a mutual understanding and agreement is settled. Until the Israelis and the Palestinians can settle their differences and cooperate with each other, the "battle" will continue on.

1839-42 and 1856-60, two wars between China and Western countries. The first was between Great Britain and China. Early in the 19th cent British merchants began smuggling opium into China in order to balance their purchases of tea for export to Britain. In 1839, China enforced its prohibitions on the importation of opium by destroying at Guangzhou (Canton) a large quantity of opium confiscated from British merchants. Great Britain, which had been looking to end China's restrictions on foreign trade, responded by sending gunboats to attack several Chinese coastal cities. China, unable to withstand modern arms, was defeated and forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing (1842) and the British Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue (1843). These provided that the ports of Guangzhou, Jinmen, Fuzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai should be open to British trade and residence; in addition Hong Kong was ceded to the British. Within a few years other Western powers signed similar treaties with China and received commercial and residential privileges, and the Western domination of China's treaty ports began. In 1856 a second war broke out following an allegedly illegal Chinese search of a British-registered ship, the Arrow, in Guangzhou. British and French troops took Guangzhou and Tianjin and compelled the Chinese to accept the treaties of Tianjin (1858), to which France, Russia, and the United States were also party. China agreed to open 11 more ports, permit foreign legations in Beijing, sanction Christian missionary activity, and legalize the import of opium. China's subsequent attempt to block the entry of diplomats into Beijing as well as Britain's determination to enforce the new treaty terms led to a renewal of the war in 1859. This time the British and French occupied Beijing and burned the imperial summer palace (Yuan ming yuan). The Beijing conventions of 1860, by which China was forced to reaffirm the terms of the Treaty of Tianjin and make additional concessions, concluded the hostilities.

The first comprehensive peace talks between Israel and delegations representing the Palestinians and neighboring Arab states began in October 1991. After Likud lost the parliamentary election of June 1992, Labor party leader Yitzhak Rabin formed a new government. Rabin took a more conciliatory line toward the Palestinians and imposed strict limits on new Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. In 1993, after decades of violent conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, leaders from each side agreed to the signing of an historic peace treaty. Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat and Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin met in the United States on September 13 to witness the signing of the treaty, which paved the way for limited Palestinian self-rule in Israeli-occupied territories. The Gaza-Jericho Agreement was signed in Cairo on May 4, 1994, and applies to the Gaza Strip and to a defined area of about 65 square kilometers including Jericho and its environs. The Gaza-Jericho agreement addresses four main issues-security arrangements, civil affairs, legal matters, and economic relations. The document includes agreement to a withdrawal of Israeli military forces from Gaza and Jericho, a transfer of authority from the Israeli Civil Administration to a Palestinian Authority, the structure and composition of the Palestinian Authority is a Palestinian police force, an

Some common words found in the essay are:
Vietnam War, Palestinians Americans, South Vietnam, Tonkin Resolution, Messiah Politics, Gulf War, Gaza Strip, Middle East, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Britain China, vietnam war, war military, gulf war, military control, opium war, west bank, involvement vietnam, south vietnam, palestinian authority, southeast asia, political involvement vietnam, 9-10 jan 1996, station 9-10 jan, 1964 department bulletin, department bulletin 24,
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