The Inexorable March of War

India is both the second largest country by population in the world and one of the poorest. It has enormous new wealth and staggering poverty.

So, how to greet the news that India has just signed a deal to buy $2Billion worth of fighter planes from Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed?

Less than two years ago, Bush signed a nuclear deal with India to sell nuclear fuels and technology.

War, as we have seen over and over again, is rarely about anything "honorable." It is most often about money, deals, commerce.

One hopes as one goes along that men will find wisdom and create an approximation of peace on earth.

But, at the age of 65 and looking at the evidence, one sadly concludes that we are mad limited creatures.

War slogs on to the chime of the till.