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Question Details	Asked By	Asked On
Norway rated most peaceful nation	Itsdb	05/30/07
U.S. ranked 96th... A study has ranked Norway as the most peaceful country and Iraq as the least in a survey of 121 countries. The Global Peace Index, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, looked at 24 factors to determine how peaceful each country was. It places the US at 96th on the list and the UK at 49th, while New Zealand ranks second and Japan fifth. The authors say it is the first attempt to produce such a wide-ranging league table of how peaceful countries are. Factors examined by the authors include levels of violence and organised crime within the country and military expenditure. The survey has been backed by the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former US President Jimmy Carter and US economist Joseph Stiglitz, who are all Nobel prize laureates. It is also supported by Queen Noor of Jordan. 'Wake-up call' Scandinavian and other European countries generally performed well in the survey. But Britain's ranking comes partly from its involvement in Iraq and other conflicts. The United States is 96th - between Yemen and Iran - again because of such things as its military spending, its involvement in Iraq, violent crime at home, and a high prison population. The survey also places Russia and Israel at the wrong end of the scale - 118th and 119th respectively. The brainchild of Steve Killelea, an Australian entrepreneur, the survey is meant to inform governments, international organisations, and campaign groups. Mr Killelea said: "This is a wake-up call for leaders around the globe. Countries need to become more peaceful to solve the major challenges that the world faces - from climate change to decreasing biodiversity. "There is also a strong case for the world becoming more peaceful and it is now crucial for world leaders and business to take a lead," he said. He added that the high positions of Germany, which ranked 12th, and Japan revealed that "there can be light at the end of what may seem at the moment like a very dark tunnel." The study is published just before the G8 summit of leading countries next week. The authors say they are trying to supplant what they call some "woolly" definitions of peace with a scientific approach, that includes levels of violent crime, political instability, and a country's relations with its neighbours. But questions have been raised over the way some of these factors are brought together. The authors themselves acknowledge that there is a lack of data in many countries. What impact the new survey will have is unclear. The authors also argue that some countries - like Japan - may benefit from sheltering under the US military umbrella. At least we beat Iran.
Clarification/Follow-up by Itsdb on 05/31/07 2:05 pm: Clere, this is what the world shuddered at for more than a dozen years. First from UN Res 1441: Iraq's noncompliance with Council resolutions and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles poses to international peace and security Iraq has not provided an accurate, full, final, and complete disclosure Iraq repeatedly obstructed immediate, unconditional, and unrestricted access failed to cooperate fully and unconditionally with UNSCOM and IAEA weapons inspectors Government of Iraq has failed to comply with its commitments pursuant to resolution 687 (1991) with regard to terrorism [Failure to] end repression of its civilian population [Failure to] provide access by international humanitarian organizations to all those in need of assistance in Iraq [Failure to] return or cooperate in accounting for Kuwaiti and third country nationals wrongfully detained by Iraq, or to return Kuwaiti property wrongfully seized by Iraq [Noting that] a ceasefire would be based on acceptance by Iraq of the provisions of that resolution [687], including the obligations on Iraq contained therein Iraq has been and remains in material breach of its obligations under relevant resolutions From the Iraq Liberation act of 1998: (1) On September 22, 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, starting an 8 year war in which Iraq employed chemical weapons against Iranian troops and ballistic missiles against Iranian cities. (2) In February 1988, Iraq forcibly relocated Kurdish civilians from their home villages in the Anfal campaign, killing an estimated 50,000 to 180,000 Kurds. (3) On March 16, 1988, Iraq used chemical weapons against Iraqi Kurdish civilian opponents in the town of Halabja, killing an estimated 5,000 Kurds and causing numerous birth defects that affect the town today. (4) On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded and began a 7 month occupation of Kuwait, killing and committing numerous abuses against Kuwaiti civilians, and setting Kuwait's oil wells ablaze upon retreat. (5) Hostilities in Operation Desert Storm ended on February 28, 1991, and Iraq subsequently accepted the ceasefire conditions specified in United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 (April 3, 1991) requiring Iraq, among other things, to disclose fully and permit the dismantlement of its weapons of mass destruction programs and submit to long-term monitoring and verification of such dismantlement. (6) In April 1993, Iraq orchestrated a failed plot to assassinate former President George Bush during his April 14-16, 1993, visit to Kuwait. (7) In October 1994, Iraq moved 80,000 troops to areas near the border with Kuwait, posing an imminent threat of a renewed invasion of or attack against Kuwait. (8) On August 31, 1996, Iraq suppressed many of its opponents by helping one Kurdish faction capture Irbil, the seat of the Kurdish regional government. (9) Since March 1996, Iraq has systematically sought to deny weapons inspectors from the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) access to key facilities and documents, has on several occasions endangered the safe operation of UNSCOM helicopters transporting UNSCOM personnel in Iraq, and has persisted in a pattern of deception and concealment regarding the history of its weapons of mass destruction programs. (10) On August 5, 1998, Iraq ceased all cooperation with UNSCOM, and subsequently threatened to end long-term monitoring activities by the International Atomic Energy Agency and UNSCOM. (11) On August 14, 1998, President Clinton signed Public Law 105-235, which declared that `the Government of Iraq is in material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations' Not a word of that was from the Bush administration. Why doesn't Clinton and the UN get even a small measure of the criticism Bush does for such a "flimsy rationale"? Oh yeah, Bush was the one that finally did something about that genocidal dictator and we can't spoil a good dictator's fun can we?

Summary of Answers Received	Answered On	Answered By	Average Rating
1. Norway depends on The Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) t...	05/30/07	tomder55
2. There is no question that many smaller countries, especially...	05/31/07	clere
3. First off, I have checked the website of the report, and I h...	05/31/07	ETWolverine

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