When the Russians invaded Afghanistan, the Afghanies received adroit assistance from the Western Powers in the form of arms, training and tactical advisors. This exposed the "Afghanistan freedom fighters" to the techniques and weapons of modern warfare. Arab pride swelled with the knowledge that they could now confront and defeat an invader equipt with a modern army. These newly minted "Mujadin" later strode forth to test their new found abilities on their teachers in Somalia and elsewhere.

When Laser guided bombs fell with devastating precision and Tomahawk missiles flew throughout the Persian Gulf War, the eyes of many Generals turned green with envy around the world. One news report described the reaction of the Chinese generals to the well oiled American War machine. "We are behind and have a lot of catching up to do!". Today, the seeds of that envy have bloomed into the rapid expansion and modernization of the Chinese military. Its ultimate purpose is not hard to surmise.

In conclusion, the war cycle requires the transfer of technology & tactics between peoples either directly or by demonstration. To break this cycle, all war must be stopped with the ultimate goal of global de-militarization. Hopefully, mankind will be able to outgrow the need for war and to solve regional differences through diplomacy and negotiation.