Quick thoughts on collateral damage
Jonah struggles mightily against the the presumption of evil this morning.
But I'd like to address a very narrow topic:
This statement is incontrovertibly true, and can be spun two ways. 1) Anti-war absolutists point to this fact and cry, "War is immoral!" because they envision themselves on the ground, helpless, as the killing machines fly overhead. 2) Pro-war conditionalists (like myself) understand this fact and make it a point of honor to minimize civilian deaths because they see themselves as the pilots, flying in low, exposing themselves to danger in order to prove how much this moral responsibilty weighs on their conscience.
I suppose there's a depraved third category (Saddam gunning down the southern Shiites after the 1991 ceasefire comes to mind) but why is it that Americans who hold view number one see only depravity and evil in the eyes of us who hold view number two? I don't want to convert them to my way of thinking, just stop calling me "baby killer." Ya know?
But I'd like to address a very narrow topic:
Aerial bombing by its very nature inevitably results in the killing and maiming of innocents and combatants.
This statement is incontrovertibly true, and can be spun two ways. 1) Anti-war absolutists point to this fact and cry, "War is immoral!" because they envision themselves on the ground, helpless, as the killing machines fly overhead. 2) Pro-war conditionalists (like myself) understand this fact and make it a point of honor to minimize civilian deaths because they see themselves as the pilots, flying in low, exposing themselves to danger in order to prove how much this moral responsibilty weighs on their conscience.
I suppose there's a depraved third category (Saddam gunning down the southern Shiites after the 1991 ceasefire comes to mind) but why is it that Americans who hold view number one see only depravity and evil in the eyes of us who hold view number two? I don't want to convert them to my way of thinking, just stop calling me "baby killer." Ya know?