A World Without Peace

May 10, 1985

As the nation marks the 40th anniversary of the end of World War II, there`s a tendency to view the four decades that followed that global catastrophe as a time of general peace, broken only by the localized fighting in Korea and Vietnam.

According to the United Nations, it`s been anything but. There have been more than 150 armed conflicts since 1945, and the UN estimates the body count from these at approximately 20 million. That approaches half the number of lives lost in all of World War II.

At one point last year, there were more than 40 armed struggles going on all over the world. The continuing Iran-Iraq bloodbath is approaching the level of carnage of one of history`s major wars. Counting Central America as part of North America, there is not a single continent enjoying peace except Antarctica.

Worldwide military expenditures now exceed $800 billion a year--probably more if a full accounting of all of the Soviets` military outlay were made. The UN expects the total to reach $1 trillion a year well before 1990. This contrasts with just $35 billion a year spent on development assistance--a total the world`s military spenders reach in just 15 days.

War, it seems, is constant. It is peace that is the rare and precious gift.