The 100th anniversary of the end of World War 1 should be a warning for all leaders

Extraordinarily moving ceremonies being held today to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War should and must remind all leaders of the great military powers that wars like this, on this horrendous scale, cannot ever happen again. I mean world wars, although it would be truly amazing if the ceremonies helped to prevent all wars. But of course that is an impossible dream. The terrible war in Yemen continues, so too in Somalia and elsewhere in Africa. And Russia under Vladimir Putin continues to look as if it is interested in more aggression in countries on its borders, notably the Baltics. Among the interviews of people who have lost sons in the modern-day wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, many gave poignant accounts of the way their lives have changed and the personal agonies they have suffered. One British father of Indian origin, interviewed on BBC, lost a son in Afghanistan, blown up by an improvised explosive device. It was almost too much to watch. He lost the son who had been his most treasured companion. In the First World War millions died. It was a war of indefinable horror. Yet 21 years later, the second world war broke out. So lessons then were not learned. Since then there have been nearly 40 wars around the world. It's a grim reminder that the human race is by its very nature belligerent. But surely the 100th anniversary of the end of what historians like to call the Great War should have some lasting impact on every world leader?