Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Dec. 1, 2025
Update	: Dec. 1, 2025
Parts	: 03

Synopsis:



This current series actually started as part of another BBB article called "Confusing Tariffs Controversy: Big Business Exposed!". In the article, I discuss Apple Inc.'s so called "China + 1" diversification strategy. Without going into a lot of details, this business strategy involves Apple moving some of its manufacturing sites from China to other nations, such as India and Vietnam. Apple's primary motivation is to be as least negatively affected as possible by geopolitical tensions -- such as the USA-China tariff war, and what seems to be an inevitable war over Taiwan -- and to avoid the high tariffs which the Trump administration has placed on Chinese imports. The purpose of "China + 1" is thus to reduce supply chain risks which can exist when a company concentrates its production plants in a single location, as is in fact the case with Apple's China-based Foxconn manufacturing plants.

As I just mentioned, the communist-led nation of Vietnam is one of the nations which has benefitted from Apple's current business strategy. While Apple has focused its attention on moving some of its iPhone production plants to India, at the same time, it has likewise been shifting the production of AirPods and MacBooks so that they are now being assembled in Vietnam. It was at this point where, in my usual fashion, I began going off on a tangent in the aforementioned article. Thus, I decided to transfer the subject of Vietnam to a new and separate article, meaning, of course, this one.

Personally, I have a very hard time wrapping my head around this. Why so? Well, because whether or not a person agrees with the costly Vietnam War and the motivations which were supposedly behind it -- I personally don't agree -- the fact remains that to this day, Vietnam is still a communist-run country. Furthermore, as some of my older readers will know, it has been estimated that almost 60,000 American soldiers lost their lives there, with many thousands more returning to the USA maimed, psychologically messed up, etc. The tragedy is that many of the men who died were barely boys out of high school who still had their entire lives ahead of them. Who knows what productive things they could have accomplished, if their lives had not been suddenly cut short by that terrible, senseless war.

As is their nature, while the American mainstream media will always highlight the number of American servicemen who have died in any given conflict, it is very important for you to know -- that is, if you do not know it already -- that the other side, whoever the enemy happens to be, always gets the very worst end of the stick. In the case of the Vietnam War, estimates of how many Vietnamese soldiers and civilians died range from 970,000 to 3 million casualties. Furthermore, it has been estimated that about 275,000 to 310,000 Cambodians, as well as 20,000 to 62,000 Laotians died during the conflict as well. Even if we consider the lowest figures for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos combined, that is a total of 1,265,000. If, on the other hand, we consider the higher figures, the total comes to 3,372,000. Please understand that my purpose here is NOT to minimize the tragedy of almost 60,000 dead Americans. Rather, it is to demonstrate the overall horrors of engaging in war in the first place.

As I believe I explain in the four-part series called "Obama, McCain and the Bush Legacy", we see a similar thing occurring with the illegal, illogical, ill-conceived Iraq War as well. Many Americans will already know that according to published statistics, approximately 4,500 American service members died during that eight-year war, which endured from 2003 to 2011. However, how many Americans are really aware of the number of casualties on the other side? Please note that I am NOT just referring to alleged ISIS and al-Qaeda fighters. I am talking about ALL the dead, including non-combatant civilians. Well, let me just share a verbatim response which I obtained from Google Gemini. I think the statistics -- whichever ones are correct -- speak for themselves:

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Estimates of the number of Iraqis who died during the Iraq War beginning in 2003 vary widely, from approximately 200,000 documented violent civilian deaths to studies estimating over a million total war-related deaths, including indirect fatalities. The differing figures stem from different methodologies, with "body counts" based on documented reports typically producing lower numbers than "population-based studies" that use household surveys and statistical extrapolation. Key estimates and sources include:

Iraq Body Count (IBC) project:

This organization tallies documented civilian deaths from media reports, morgue records, and official sources. As of June 2023, the project documented a range of 186,901 to 210,296 violent civilian deaths since March 2003. They note their figures are likely an underestimate, as many deaths may go unreported.

Brown University Costs of War Project:

In a March 2023 update, this project cited an estimate of at least 270,000 Iraqis killed, mostly civilians. An earlier report estimated a minimum of 134,000 civilians killed by war's violence by 2013, with the actual toll potentially twice as high.

PLOS Medicine Study (2013):

This household survey estimated that approximately 461,000 total excess deaths were attributable to the war and occupation between March 2003 and mid-2011, with over 60% due to direct violence. This study included indirect deaths caused by the collapse of infrastructure and health systems.

Lancet Surveys (2004, 2006):

An influential but controversial 2006 study published in The Lancet, a medical journal, estimated approximately 655,000 excess deaths as of July 2006, the majority violent. An earlier 2004 study by the same team estimated around 100,000 excess deaths up to September 2004.

Opinion Research Business (ORB) Survey (2008):

This poll-based estimate suggested an even higher number, with approximately 1,033,000 war-related deaths by August 2007 (with a range of 946,000 to 1,120,000).

Overall, the total number of Iraqis who died is substantial and widely considered to be in the hundreds of thousands, potentially reaching half a million or more when indirect deaths are considered.

----- End Quote -----

To reiterate the previous point I made regarding the Vietnam War, my purpose in sharing these Iraq War statistics with you is certainly NOT to minimize in any way the tragic deaths of approximately 4,500 American servicemen. Once again, it is to simply demonstrate the overall horrors of engaging in war in the first place. However, if we are truly being honest here, I think we can agree that what the other side suffered is way worse than what the United States suffered. Also, I think the previous death figures more than make my point. Furthermore, keeping those previous figures in mind from both the Vietnam War and the Iraq War -- not to mention the various other U.S. bombings which have occurred since the Vietnam War period, I hope it will help you to better understand why I state the hard things which I do in my article called "Who is the Real Terrorist?", which you will find listed at the end of this same series.

Let me remind you that I have only discussed the human death toll. We haven't even covered the aftermath of so devastating a war as the two aforementioned wars. The demise of hundreds of thousands of people is bad enough. However, we must also consider the destruction of a nation's military, as well the annihilation of a country's economy, the destruction of its infrastructure, the destruction of its social structure, the destruction of its basic utility services, the destruction of its healthcare services, the destruction of its food crops, the destruction of its civilian government, and much more. We are talking about the total breakdown of that country, which can take months or years for it to fully recover from. During the recovery period, after the war has technically ended, the people -- mainly non-combatant civilians -- will continue to suffer and be in misery, possibly resulting in hundreds of thousands of new deaths being added to a nation's death toll. This is precisely what happened in Iraq, for example.

My friends, no matter how you choose to look at it, all wars are ugly. They are horrible. A lot of times -- I would even dare say usually in fact -- they are unjustified. They are a total and complete destructive waste which rarely -- if ever -- create anything good. They only leave behind destruction, suffering and misery for those people who manage to survive them. Most wars are instigated and fueled by pure selfishness and greed in one form or another, as is clearly demonstrated by the very first group of Bible verses below. That is why I absolutely hate them. And in case you are wondering who the instigator is, and who is really behind them -- not just the human instigators -- please consider the following Bible verses:

"From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, EVEN OF YOUR LUSTS that war in your members? YE LUST, and have not: YE KILL, AND DESIRE TO HAVE, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because YE ASK AMISS, THAT YE MAY CONSUME IT UPON YOUR LUSTS."


"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."


"Not as Cain, WHO WAS OF THAT WICKED ONE, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous."


"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy HIM THAT HAD THE POWER OF DEATH, THAT IS, THE DEVIL; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."


"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."


"My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war."


"And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."


"He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints."


So as you can plainly see, it is Satan the foul murderer and destroyer himself who inspires man to war against his neighbor for the most vile, selfish and lustful reasons. Perhaps it is a lust for more power, or to gain new territory, or perhaps to acquire new natural resources. Whatever the reason, the bottom line is that it is usually based on some selfish lust, despite what a nation's government and propaganda machine may try to tell you. As we have seen in our own nation, corrupt governments will gaslight and pressure the civilian populace until they are finally willing to accept another war. They'll spin all kinds of devilish lies, and use fear and paranoia, or even accuse you of not being very patriotic if you do not support their latest war. I know that some of my readers know exactly what I am talking about, and who I am talking about.

But concerning us Christians, exactly what should be our own attitude towards violence and war? While I am sure that the answer is rather obvious to many of my readers, nevertheless, allow me to share some of my favorite Bible verses with you, which demonstrate what should be the Scriptural foundation for our beliefs and attitude towards war. I hope you enjoy reading them. Most of all, I hope that you live them in your own personal life as well:

"But THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."


"BLESSED ARE THE MEEK: for they shall inherit the earth . . . Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God . . . But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."


"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, LIVE PEACEABLY WITH ALL MEN."


"Finally‭, brethren‭, farewell‭‭. Be perfect‭‭, be of good comfort‭‭, be of one‭ mind‭‭, LIVE IN PEACE‭‭; and‭ the God‭ of love‭ and‭ peace‭ shall be‭‭ with‭ you‭.‭"


"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God."


"And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus [meaning the Apostle Peter] stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for ALL THEY THAT TAKE THE SWORD SHALL PERISH WITH THE SWORD. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?"


"And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,‭ And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.‭ And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.‭ And when his disciples James and John saw ‭this‭, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?‭ But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.‭ For THE SON OF MAN IS NOT COME TO DESTROY MEN’S LIVES, BUT TO SAVE ‭THEM‭. And they went to another village.‭"


"When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?‭ And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.‭ And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.‭"


"Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, PUT UP THY SWORD INTO THE SHEATH: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?"


"(For THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT CARNAL, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)"


"No man that warreth [meaning spiritual warfare] entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."


At this point in our discussion, let me interject something very important. Because I have a pretty good understanding of human nature, I already know that some people -- and this includes even some deceived, patriotic Christians -- will no doubt object to everything I just said. In the case of other Christians, some of the more patriotic ones will even rebel against the truths which are found in the previous group of Bible verses. In their minds, they will begin to invent a number of reasons -- justifiable in their own deceived minds -- regarding why we Christians just cannot possibly adhere to the Biblical advice those verses offer regarding avoiding war and living in peace in our current, evil and obviously violent world.

My friends, trust me, I have heard it all before. While what they say may seem logical on the surface, nevertheless, when it comes to us Christians, what they're saying is still very wrong. Such misguided people may even embrace and quote some of the more popular statements which have been made by a few famous individuals, who promote the view that to do nothing in the face of certain evil is to be guilty of condoning and perpetuating that very same evil. Therefore, even though we are Christians -- so the argument goes -- nevertheless, we must still abandon our beliefs and our personal convictions, and we must support our government's war. It is a very sly argument which to some weak-minded Christians will seem to have some merit. However, does it really apply to us?

My friends, my answer is the following: If we truly believe the Bible -- particularly the Scriptures I just shared with you -- then, no, absolutely not! It does NOT apply to us. In short, you need to understand that there's a huge difference between helping the wounded man on the road to Jericho -- in other words, on a personal level -- and lending your nation support when it goes to war against another country. That kind of violence is on a whole different level. I hope you can see that. Sadly, I have seen many online Christians do this very thing. They not only support America's wars, but they likewise support Israel's wars as well. In other words, they support secular wars just like the rest of the children of the world, which is totally contrary to the Scriptures.

Are you starting to understand the problem I see? Can you see the deception such misguided brethren are under? In my view, the reason and source of the problem is that they do not recognize that as God's saved and sealed children, they are no longer a part of this present world. As such, they shouldn't think like the rest of the world, and they should not be governed by the rules of the world. They should only be governed by God's Word. They should be new creatures in Christ Jesus, with changed and renewed minds, who see and understand things in a totally different and new way. That is to say, God's way, according to what we learn from the Bible. Following are some of my favorite verses regarding the subject of being new creatures with renewed minds, and a new understanding and outlook:

Are you starting to understand the problem I see? Can you see the deception such misguided brethren are under? In my view, the reason and source of the problem is that they do not recognize that as God's saved and sealed children, they are no longer a part of this present world. As such, they shouldn't think like the rest of the world, and they should not behave according to the world's standards. They should only be governed by the standards of God's Word. They should be new creatures in Christ Jesus, with changed and renewed minds, who see and understand things in a totally different and new way. That is to say, God's way, according to what is described in the Bible. Following are a few of my favorite Bible verses concerning the subject of being new creatures with renewed and transformed minds, and a new understanding and outlook:

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."


"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."


"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."


"And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:"


"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."


"That ye put off concerning the former conversation [meaning manner of life, conduct and behavior] the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;"


"Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;"


In short, the renewed mind of a born-again Christian should conform to the Word of God, and that most certainly includes the previous verses I shared with you regarding staying out of wars, and living in peace with our fellow human beings. As I also pointed out to you earlier, once we come to Christ and are saved and sealed by the Spirit of God, we are no longer a part of this present world. God has called us out from it, as becomes very evident by Bible verses such as the following:

"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."


"I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil."


"Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."


"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,"


"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."


"No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."


"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city."


"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."


"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."


My dear friends, as is my custom, I have taken you directly to the Scriptures, so that you can see exactly what they say regarding these various issues. These are NOT just my words and my thoughts. They are God's thoughts, as He inspired the authors of the Bible to write. So the bottom line is this. Do you honestly and truly believe all of the Scriptures that I just shared with you? If you do, how can you possibly side with any country in any war, including with any wars in which the United States becomes involved? By so doing, are you not in fact betraying the very Word of God, and the faith which you claim to embrace? Are you not in fact putting the words of imperfect, fallible men ABOVE the very Word of God? Think about it.

Now, if you think that I am in error, and that I have somehow misunderstood the Scriptures, then I challenge you to show me directly from the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Apostles where they supported Christians supporting secular wars, or even fighting in such wars themselves. My friends, you aren't going to find it, because such verses simply do NOT exist. Of this I am certain. So how can you possibly justify your own wayward position? But, of course, I am sure that a few people will find a way to do it, because deceived people have been twisting the meaning of certain Scriptures for their personal convenience, and forcing said Scriptures to conform to their personal beliefs -- instead of the other way around -- for the past two thousand years.

But to those of my readers who do have ears to hear, and who have not been deceived by the sly lies and deceptions of this present evil and violent world, let me add this. The children of this world will do as the children of the world will do, and there is really nothing that you and I can do about it. After all, they are not governed by the Word of God, and much less are they constrained by the Spirit of God. You can pray and pray and pray, but you cannot override human free will. Not even God will do that, except in a few rare instances, as occurred with the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. But God really wanted to use that man, and he was a special case.

As you should know by now, the children of this world have their own set of rules, as well as their own code of conduct. Tragically, much of it is quite contrary to the Word of God, including in the so-called "Christian" United States. That is by their choice. They want to be their own gods and the masters of their own fates. I am reminded of the following Bible verse which reveals the depth of such rebellion:

"The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts."


Well, for such people and such nations who foolishly decide to follow such a dangerous, rebellious and wayward path, let me share the following few Bible verses with you for your personal consideration:

"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."


"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God . . . For our God is a consuming fire."


"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."


Please go to part two for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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