Have Bush explain it to him since they are probably on the same intellectual level.

You tell them that the world is messed 'badly' which is really true.

Tell the truth or nothing at all. Don't lie about war.

because oil makes people greedy. or that they both are fighting for what they think is right. whoever "they" may be

That is rather like trying to describe sound to a deaf person or colour to a blind person. Rather you than me!

With great consideration for their level of understanding. In the simplest terms, explaining how different people want different things from life, and how sometimes they disagree and the disagreements can become quite strong, which can lead to some really terrible actions.

try the phrase 'because the world is run by selfish retards'

You know your child best... Go with what you think they could comprehend. little steps and if your child is asking questions then they are ready with the answers. Just make them simple and clear.

Well, that really depends on why YOU think we're at war. I can tell you what I'D say to an 8-year old, but if we don't agree with each other, you obviously won't want to tell your 8-year old the same thing as I would. The basic principle to follow is that you should tell them the truth. This is how you tell a person of any age anything: by using the truth. Of course, young children need things explained to them in simple ways and using simple language, but it should still be based on the truth, as you see it. I would say this to an 8-year old: "As you know, a war is a big fight between two sides. Sometimes other groups join the war to support one side or another. There can be civil wars, which are wars between two different sides that live in the same country. There can also be wars between two different countries. There are also World Wars -- these are wars where all the biggest, richest countries join in. There have been two world wars in our history. "For as long as humans have been around, people have found reasons to go to war. Usually these wars are about money, power, glory, or all three. Some people believe ALL wars are about these things. "I disagree: I think there is such a thing as a just war. If someone breaks into our house and threatens us with a weapon, I think the right thing to do is to protect myself and you. If I'm lucky, I might be able to get the person out of the house without hurting him, but I might have to hurt the person, or even kill him, just to protect us. You can say the same thing about a group of people, like a country. If you're the leader of a country, and another country is threatening your country, you have to defend yourself, and that might mean war. "No matter what the reason, war is an unfortunate thing because so many people suffer. In our society, war is often glorified. I don't like the way most people talk about war in our society. You should be very careful when you talk about war, because we all have such different opinions on it, and you might upset someone. And whenever you hear someone talk about war, you should listen carefully, and try and figure out what they mean by what they're saying. You shouldn't just accept that what they say is true: you should think about it and decide on your own what is true. "Right now, the US is occupying Iraq and Afghanistan. That means they have gone into those countries and set up governments there. People talk about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that is because the US is there fighting groups of people that are rebelling against them and the government they've set up. "Many people think this war is justified. They say they're responding to the terrorist attacks on 9/11. They say the Middle East is a threat to the Western way of life. Many people do not think this war is justified: I'm one of them. I think this war is about power and greed. It is a very, very complicated issue. Most people don't think about how complicated it is, but they have opinions about it anyway. I don't understand all of it, either, but my opinion is it's wrong."

You just tell them that sometimes when two countries can't reach an agreement they fight instead of talking things through. It doesn't make the country bad but you have to explain to them that there are other ways around war. Personally my policy with my kids will be to keep my children ignorant of war and other things like that. At that age they should not need to worry about things like that. At 8 the only things they should know are don't talk to strangers and where the no no places people can't touch you are etc.....

I'm not sure, I'm 25 and have yet to hear an explanation that makes sense to me.

I am not at war with anyone. Since I don't know where you come from and don't know why you maybe at war I can not answer the question.

Because Bush and Cheney didn’t want it to end, as long as we were at war they were making lots and lots of money. Also while we at war all eyes are on the war and Bush and Cheney could do whatever they wanted to and no one would notice.