Except when war is waged in a desert, noncombatants, also known as civilians or 'the people,' constitute the great majority of those affected.

Move beyond the educated elite, and the great majority in most countries outside Europe don't speak English.

Since 2006, when the Second Lebanon War killed perhaps 2,000 Lebanese, many of them civilians, and led to the destruction of an entire section of Beirut, the northern border has been absolutely quiet.

The great majority of the people say enough. They are sick and tired of this war.

The great majority of the people say enough. They are sick and tired of this war.

We know that the majority of your people want this war to end and opinion polls show the Americans do not want to fight the Muslims on Muslim land, nor do they want Muslims to fight them on their land. Bush tried to ignore the polls that demanded that he end the war in Iraq.