In WWII there was a clear 'enemy' that the Allied powers faced. In Europe, a very oppressive regime led by Hitler bent on world domination by force, and in Asia, a very oppressive Japanese force that had been operating for over thirty years before it was finally countered. As harsh as it was for those involved, the evil opposed was worse than the cost of opposing it.

However, I feel that in WWI, that was not the case. The loss of life was tremendous even though there was no clear 'evil' being opposed. It was solely for political reasons the war was started. I think the introduction of modern weapons that were significantly more advanced than the tactics used against them caught everyone off guard creating a level of carnage that no one expected. The price of war then was greatly under estimated. And if that blunder wasn't bad enough, the post-war actions of the 'victors' set up the conditions that allowed the likes of Hitler to rise to power.

As we see in the world today, there are still those who choose to force their will on others by force of arms and some of those will only be opposed by force. There are other 'battles' being waged on other 'battlegrounds' that are not so violent, yet may also effect the well being of many, just not as overtly. There are other injustices being committed on major population groups that because they remain 'localized' are not opposed by the major powers. These things have been with us throughout history and seem to be destined to remain with us until the end. Perhaps we will learn to understand and control our modern modern tech before it again gets away from us like it did in WWI and final bring a true peace to the world....