Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Sep. 24, 2026
Update	: Sep. 24, 2026
Parts	: 04

Synopsis:



Let me begin this current series by clearly stating that as a lifelong God-fearing, Bible-believing Christian who's always strived to live by the peaceful precepts which were taught by Jesus Christ and the Apostles, I absolutely abhor all manner of violence, killing and war. This is a position which I have firmly embraced, taught and promoted for many decades now. Furthermore, my personal stance regarding this subject is fully supported by the Scriptures, as is clearly demonstrated by Bible verses such as the following ones:

"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 reasons, 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 MENS 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."


Sadly, the world at large does not live by this Scriptural standard. Thus, as we all know, humanity has endured war after war for millennia now in which countless millions -- and quite possibly billions -- of people have either died, been seriously maimed, or suffered other rather negative consequences in their lives. The truth of the matter is that no one really knows the actual number of war casualties due to incomplete historical records, as well as due to a number of other reasons.

But the fact remains that war and conflict in all of its forms is a horrible, ugly, tragic, wasteful thing. It is a shameful blight on the human race which destroys rather than a positive force which creates and builds. There is nothing good about war, unless, of course, you are an individual who happens to be profiting from it as some corrupt governments and military-industrial complexes do today. Need I mention any names or nations?

So as I already said, since the beginning of time, due to its violent, wicked, selfish, fallen nature, humanity has continuously waged war, and man fights against his fellow man for a variety of supposedly justifiable -- yet actually indefensible -- reasons. The Holy Bible informs us of the following concerning the violent, wicked heart of man:

"And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."


"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"


"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man."


"And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."


"From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?"


Having now laid a firm Scriptural foundation regarding this issue, let us now turn to the main topic of discussion. What actually motivated me to write this current series was a piece I read in the July 30, 2026 edition of The Washington Times which bore the attention-grabbing headline of "House Seeks Report on Pentagon Arms Shortages". Written by regular contributor Bill Gertz, the article discusses how the U.S. military is running low on munitions -- both missiles and anti-missile interceptors -- due in part to the ongoing Iran War which has seriously depleted American weapon stockpiles.

For example, in the latest edition of "Threat Status", which is an email newsletter I receive from The Washington Times, in the section entitled "Tomahawk Use in Iran Breaks Record" it reveals the following alarming information:

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"The U.S. has fired more than 2,300 Tomahawks in combat since 1991, but roughly 1,000 of those were launched against critical Iranian targets in the early stages of the latest conflict with Iran. It marks the most Tomahawk cruise missiles fired in any military operation since the debut of the weapon.

'From an inventory perspective, of course it's been very significant. On the other hand, I would say munitions exist to be used,' said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and senior adviser with the CSIS Defense and Security Department. 'The fact that they are being used is not in itself a problem. The problem is that the inventory is now low enough that the Joint Staff and the chairman [of the Joint Chiefs] are very worried about what that might mean for a conflict with China and deterrence against China,' Mr. Cancian told The Washington Times.

The number used in different operations has steadily increased over the years, as the U.S. military went from using just 200 of the missiles in Operation Desert Storm to more than 800 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Now, service officials are looking for defense contractors to manufacture thousands of ground-launched rockets per year over the next decade amid reports of dwindling stockpiles of critical munitions."

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As a result of this dangerous situation, the U.S. Congress has added a section to the pending fiscal 2027 defense policy bill -- aka the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA -- which requires the Pentagon to submit a report to Congress every three months in which it declares the current status of U.S. munitions supplies. The concern is that the United States may not be able to sustain a viable deterrent against China in the Indo-Pacific theater if the current munitions shortage situation persists.

My friends, as I read The Washington Times report, I really had to shake my head in bewilderment. "Why so?" you may ask. Well, because reports such as the aforementioned one -- The Washington Times is obviously not the first news outlet to reveal this kind of sensitive information -- make absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. In fact, I would dare say that such news reports, no matter how well-meaning they may be, border on total absurdity and absolute stupidity. Why reveal a weak hand to the world?

Let me ask you a simple question. Why in the world would any American news agency -- mainstream or otherwise -- want to so publicly broadcast the US military's vulnerabilities to America's known enemies such as Russia, China, North Korea and Iran? Furthermore, why in the world would the American government itself and the US military even allow these news agencies to do this? Even more confounding to me personally is the fact that Congress itself, and certain US military figures, have been openly discussing this important issue for literally months now. This is NOT the first news report I have read regarding this sensitive issue.

Again, that they would do this just does not make any sense to me whatsoever. Logic dictates to me that if anything, a national government or military body would actually want to keep their perceived enemies guessing concerning the actual status of their defensive and offensive capabilities. Why? Because doing so would act as a very effective deterrent. In other words, if an enemy is not sure how hard you would be able to hit back and retaliate, they might not be quite as inclined to strike you in the first place. Right? Would you want to club your enemy if you suspected that he might have an even bigger club than you?

So the last thing that any smart government or military body would want to do is to reveal a weak hand to their enemies. That would be as crazy as a serious poker player revealing his hand to all of the other players. It is just not going to happen. The player will guard his hand the very best that he can. Right? Well, unless he intentionally wants to lose. Yet that is precisely what the US military, the US Congress, and certain major news organizations have now done by so openly broadcasting the fact that America is on the verge of running out of certain weapons. But to what end do they do this? Is it possibly just a sly ruse to try to throw America's enemies off-track? I honestly don't think so. The dwindling supply of munitions seems real enough going by everything I have read regarding this issue.

Now, concerning the mainstream media, obviously, some of my readers will probably be quick to respond that free speech and freedom of the press need to be respected, and that they are in fact inalienable rights which are guaranteed to all American citizens by the U.S. Constitution. However, at the same time, it is my personal opinion that there needs to be some kind of agreed upon rules which prohibit the discussion of certain sensitive topics in an open forum. In other words, I believe that free speech and freedom of the press need to be used in a responsible manner, and that U.S. news agencies should NOT just be able to blurt out whatever will increase their viewership and/or expand their profit margin. Right?

Having said that, I personally and firmly believe that the current, as well as the near-future levels of the military's weapons stockpiles should certainly be one such topic which remains off-limits to such discussions in the public square. President Donald Trump obviously agrees, because he has been rather furious regarding these rather sensitive leaks, if we can even refer to them as leaks. Not only did Trump publicly deny any critical shortages and label the reports as being false, but he went further and condemned the disclosures as being treasonous. In addition, President Trump called for an investigation to hunt down the sources of the leaks. While I may not agree with some of Mr. Trump's policies, or even his general character, I do have to agree with him regarding this particular issue. A little over two weeks ago, on August 6, 2026, the president posted the following comment on his Truth Social network:

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"The U.S. has massive amounts of "munitions," especially of certain types. Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. as needed. Defense companies are building the largest number of plants and factories in our country's history. The "leakers" of these treasonous statements are being hunted down. Long term jail sentences will be sought! President DJT"

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My friends, I think that we need to very carefully consider this issue. After all, it does not take a defense expert to realize that in so many words, these types of rather public disclosures which are being made in news reports, as well as by other announcements which have been made by some members of the U.S. Congress, and even by certain American military figures, are telling America's enemies one of two things:

1. "Hey! Look! We Americans are running low on both offensive and defensive weapons. So, if we are attacking you right now, just hang on a little longer, because we will soon be forced to end our missile barrage."

2. "If you are planning on attacking us, or one of our many allies, now would be an excellent time to do it, because we are gradually running low on munitions due to our current ongoing conflict with Iran, and because we are also helping our other friends such as Ukraine, Taiwan, South Korea, etc."

Now obviously, this is sending the wrong message to America's enemies, and one statement is really just as stupid, foolish and irresponsible as the other. In fact, I find it very hard to believe that any U.S. news agency -- much less a member of the U.S. Congress, or some official in the U.S. military -- would be careless enough, and foolish enough to do this. Yet here we are again, and as I mentioned earlier, not for the first time. What is wrong with these people? I don't imagine that any of them would be very good at playing a serious game of poker. Please excuse my sarcasm.

Now, imagine, for example, that you are Xi Jinping, who is the current leader of Communist China. Everyone knows that Jinping has well-publicized intentions of taking over Taiwan, possibly as soon as next year, 2027. Being as I live on the island of Guam, which is a part of the Second Island Chain, and thus a direct target of both China and North Korea, I do keep abreast of this particular issue. Do you think that the news coming out of the United States right now concerning a serious munitions shortage is going to deter Xi Jinping from making his grab for Taiwan? Or will it do the exact opposite and encourage, motivate and embolden Jinping to try to take Taiwan even sooner while the USA is not fully able to come to Taiwan's defense?

I obviously can't provide a clear answer to this question, but it does not require much thought to conclude what may be on Xi Jinping's mind right now. To add injury to insult, as I believe I have also mentioned before, to my dismay, certain figures within the U.S. military establishment have already voiced their opinion that China's PLAN -- People's Liberation Army and Navy -- ALREADY supersedes the U.S. military machine in both size, might and capability, despite the chest-beating that sometimes occurs in the American mainstream media. Stated another way, these military leaders ALREADY acknowledge that the USA is no match for China when it comes to warfare on the open seas. Think about that for a moment, my friends! They've openly stated this and made a public confession of military weakness!

So the fact remains that in the Indo-Pacific region where I live, the USA is now playing a game of military catch-up with Communist China, and from everything I've read, it will still take literally years to fully prepare Guam for any potential onslaught from China, should it occur. But the real questions are the following. Is it now already too late? Will Jinping be able to take over Taiwan without the United States being able to do anything about it? And will Japan, South Korea and the Philippines simply whimper out, and ultimately refuse to come to Taiwan's defense? These are all important questions which beg for answers, and soon, because time appears to be running out for the people of Taiwan, and they undoubtedly know it.

Or consider Russian President Vladimir Putin and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War, which has taken a rather serious toll on both countries in the form of lives lost, the destruction of infrastructure, the amount of weapons expended, the negative effect on their national economies, etc. There is no doubt that Vladimir Putin is in dire straits, as is evident by the fact that he has required the assistance of troops from North Korea. Again, if you have been following the news, then you will know that Russia and North Korea have been cozying up to each other in recent months. How long it will last remains to be seen. It all depends on how long North Korea continues to be an advantage to Russia, and vice versa.

While President Putin has not declared a new, mass, mandatory mobilization for the war in Ukraine as he did in September of 2022 when he ordered a partial mobilization of about 300,000 reservists with prior military experience, this time around, Putin is relying on a continuous system of regular, expanded annual conscription and high-paid contract volunteers. Stated more clearly, the Kremlin has drastically tightened Russia's draft laws and lengthened conscription procedures so that all young men of age 18 to 30 are required to fulfill a mandatory 12-month period of military service. Not only is conscription now a continuous, year-round process, but it is also backed by digital enlistment notices to catch any potential draft dodgers.

Concerning war casualties, according to independent reports from various organizations such as the Center for Strategic & International Studies, Russia has suffered significantly more total losses than Ukraine. In fact, the CSIS estimates that Russian casualties now total about 1.3 to 1.4 million souls, of which 400,000 to 500,000 are confirmed fatalities. Such an extremely high casualty rate stems from Moscow's known heavy reliance on high-casualty frontal assaults against Ukrainian forces in order to achieve what have been publicly described as marginal territorial gains at best. In other words, for Vladimir Putin, it appears that his soldiers are expendable cannon fodder and not much more.

Regarding Ukraine, while it is believed that the country has suffered significantly fewer war casualties than Russia -- I will share more on this in a moment -- the manpower situation in Ukraine is a lot more acute than in Russia due to the fact that Ukraine's active fighting force is believed to be about 32% smaller than Russia's active fighting force. Just the mere fact that Vladimir Putin possesses a significantly larger pool of available manpower which he can throw at the current war, obviously puts Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Ukraine at an immediate disadvantage.

More specifically, it is currently believed that the active military personnel count in Russia stands at approximately 1.32 million soldiers. In contrast, Ukraine's active military personnel count hovers around 900,000 fighting men. So stated another way, Russia's army deploys about 1.46 active soldiers for every 1.0 active soldier who is deployed in Ukraine.

But as we have already discussed, due to Russia's willingness to throw a lot of soldiers into frontal assaults which result in only small gains, and the fact that Ukraine has mastered the strategic use of drones in the ongoing war, Russia has taken quite a beating insofar as war casualties are concerned. I should also point out that it is common knowledge amongst those people who engage in such statistical studies, that the actual number of war casualties thus far sustained by Ukraine is a closely-guarded national secret. However, there are some Western intelligence sources and other independent estimates which believe that Ukrainian losses hover around 425,000 to 500,000 total casualties. This includes both people killed and wounded.

But again, the problem for Ukraine is that Putin's Russia has a much larger pool of men to draw from, should it ever become necessary for Putin to do so. However, Vladimir Putin is being rather cautious regarding this issue, because the last thing that he wants to do is cause a political backlash at home, and much less, strong protest amongst the Russian citizenry which would divide the nation, as we have already seen occurring in the United States with regard to the war in Iran. It is a well-known fact that whenever a war goes poorly for a nation, or goes on for way too long, both the national leader and the party in power suffer as a result of it, particularly at the polls.

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

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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