Thus, many different activities are covered by the general term war. Consequently, it is not easy to say how many wars are going on in the world at the moment. Wars are very diverse. Several types of war tend to arise from different situations and play different sorts of roles in bargaining over conflicts. Starting from the largest wars, we may distinguish the following main categories.

Hegemonic War is a war over control of the entire world order – the rules of the international system as a whole, including the role of world hegemony. This class of wars is also known as global war, world war, general war or systemic war. The last hegemonic war was World War II.

Total War is warfare by one state waged to conquer and occupy another. The goal is to reach the capital city and force the surrender of the government, which can then be replaced with one of the victor’s choosing. The 2003 Iraq War is a classic case. Napoleonic Wars, which introduced large-scale conscription and geared the entire French International economy toward the war effort. In total war, the entire society mobilized for the struggle, the entire society of the enemy is considered a legitimate target.

Limited War includes military actions carried out to gain some objective short of the surrender and occupation of the enemy. For instance, the U.S led war against Iraq in 1991 retook the territory of Kuwait but did not go on to Baghdad to topple Saddam Hussain’s government. Many border wars have this character; after occupying the land it wants,a state may stop short and defend its gains.

Civil War refers to war between factions within a state trying to create, or prevent, a new government for the entire state or some territorial part of it. The U.S Civil War of the 1860′s is a good example of a secessionist civil war.

Guerrilla War which includes certain kinds of civil wars is a warfare without front lines. Irregular forces operate in the midst of and often hidden or protected by, civilian populations. The purpose is not to directly confront an enemy army but rather to harass and punish it so as to gradually limit its operation and effectively liberate territory from its control.

There are quite a lot of games which focus on the war in Iraq, and this is unusual as the war in Iraq is still being fought. Most online games do not have as their focus an ongoing situation. The problems surrounding these particular games may not be obvious at first sight, but one father of a US soldier who lost his life in Iraq has slammed the games as insensitive and crass. That there is controversy surrounding these games was clearly expected by the makers, but any kind of publicity is good for them. They rightly point out that war in Iraq games are just that: – games.

There are different types of War in Iraq games, one actually tries to simulate the battle for Falludah in detail and used journals of Marines who fought there to help recreate their games so that they are as true to life as a game can be. In fact a lot of the “War in Iraq” games have been made with the help of soldiers who fought there. The cynical may think that these soldiers were just out to make a fast buck, but they are on record as saying that the games show the situation as it was in Iraq and might help people to realize what was and is happening to American troops who are still fighting in Iraq.

The games are both first person games, where the player is the shooter, and games in which the player sees events unfold at a distance from the shooters, rather as a journalist embedded with the troops in Iraq would have viewed the action.

“War in Iraq” games are intense and graphically very good. You certainly get the feel for the war situation. The games get your adrenalin flowing and you have to think fast and make decisions in an instant. Whatever the ethics behind the creation of such games, there is no denying that they are exciting and they clearly hone skills. That is perhaps the best part of playing these games and others like them. You develop your cognitive abilities and your decision-making processes as well as hand-eye coordination, which you do playing most online video games. You also have to analyze your situation carefully and critically as your decisions will mean life or death within the framework of the game. They are much more than just “kill the Iraqi insurgents/terrorists”. You have to develop strategies to ‘win’ the game.

Naturally enough there are not, as yet games which can be played from the Iraqi insurgents’ points of view. However there may be some in the pipeline if rumors in the games industry are true.

At the moment though these games are about how the Americans can win the war in Iraq. This might irk some players, but if you just play the game without thinking about the ideologies behind them, then there is no doubt that they are good value entertainment. Try one and find out for yourself. As you can play for free, at least you won’t have wasted money on the game of your choice.

All three countries are included on the U.S. State Department’s travel warning list, which is updated constantly, and which insurance brokers say is used to determine how much you will be charged for a new or updated life policy – or if you will be offered a policy altogether.

According to the Web site, travel warnings are issued to describe long-term, protracted conditions that make a country dangerous or unstable, or when a U.S. embassy or consulate closes, restricting government aid to its citizens there.

The list includes war-torn countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, Chad and Sudan with their rebel violence and Mexico with its violence among drug cartels. In each case, the chances of being kidnapped and held for ransom, or injured or killed in the crossfire, are real.

“The more unstable and dangerous a country is and the more likely something bad will happen, the less likely you are to get insurance, not even from Lloyd’s of London, which provides specialty insurance if you can pay the price,” says Ryan Pinney, a high-risk specialist with Pinney Insurance Center, Inc. in Roseville, Calif.

Members of the military going into war zones have coverage through the government-provided Servicemen’s Group Life Insurance, which Pinney says costs about $24 a month for $400,000 coverage. In addition, many private insurance companies cover all military members at no extra cost,” says Michael Tessler, president of Brokerage Unlimited in St. Louis, Mo.

However, most companies won’t insure you if you are going to a war zone as a contractor or working on an oil rig off the coast of Nigeria.

Iaian Donald, with Control Risks, an independent specialty risk consultancy, says some companies that send workers to dangerous places will pay for their employees’ life insurance as part of their accident policy. Huge corporations like Haliburton, have global policies to cover any destination. “The price can be nominal if the company is big enough,” Donald says. Companies that send employees to a particularly dangerous place, including foreign journalists, can buy a policy from a high-risk specialist such as Lloyd’s of London for a certain number of staff and the underwriter will come up with a price, Donald says.

Pinney says if you’re just flying into Afghanistan’s main airport, which is a green zone, and don’t leave the area, and can document that, insurance companies will insure you.

If you’re doing long-term missionary work in a dangerous country with no easy access to good medical care, few insurance companies will insure you, Tessler says.

If you’re a member of the American Red Cross or the Peace Corp., Pinney says you will need to have your own life insurance as neither agency provides it for their volunteers. He says you would probably be limited to standard health class if embarking on a two-week trip to help a dangerous country like Haiti, which means you’ll have a mid-rating if you are relatively healthy. He says underwriters will look at where you’re going, what you’ll be doing while there and how long you’ll be gone, to determine a price.

“It could cost you as much as 25 to 50 percent more for a policy because of the danger,” Pinney says.