Israel, Lebanon, and Gaza

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

- who is responsible for the death of civilians when the terrorists who mount attacks take shelter amongst them? I do not subscribe to school of thought that would blame those taking reprisals. The blood lies with the cowardly instigators who utilize such tactics.

Would the same have been true of the American revolutionaries? They "hid" (aka lived) among the civilian population, as do all guerilla fighters. Are you going to absolve the British of all Colonial deaths in their aim to route out the Revolutionary guerillas? Or is it a matter of whose side you're on?

[scaeagles]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Or is it a matter of whose side you're on?

Certainly a fair question, and I will not deny that my perception of right and wrong comes into play, as does yours.

Not being as knowledgable as I should be on the revolutionary war, I don't completely know the tactics of those involved on either side.

I suppose there is a difference between being in the military and having a home, and a hit and run mentality. Should I be in the Continental army, and I head out and find a patrol of Redcoats and ambush them and run away to my home where my children are, and the Redcoats have followed me and I won't come out, then yes, I am responsible for the deaths of my children when they burn my house down. I have chosen to hide where my children are and place them in harms way.

Should I be a soldier and in the Continental army, and I'm out on the battlefield, and the British find out where I live and go and take my children and kill them to discourage others from joining the Continenal army, then I would blame the British for taking the battle to where the innocents are even when they knew who they were looking for was not there.

I could go on and on with situation analogies, but I'll give one more. Let's say I'm growing crops and feeding the Continental army. The British would have every justification for burning my crops. I add this as a pseudo comparison to Israel bombing airstrips in Lebanon to prevent support of terrorist activities from those airstrips.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

I could go on and on with situation analogies, but I'll give one more. Let's say I'm growing crops and feeding the Continental army. The British would have every justification for burning my crops. I add this as a pseudo comparison to Israel bombing airstrips in Lebanon to prevent support of terrorist activities from those airstrips.

So your home is a valid target for anyone we go to war against since the tax revenue that it generates helps fund our troops.

[scaeagles]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

So your home is a valid target for anyone we go to war against since the tax revenue that it generates helps fund our troops.

I suppose it is. I would expect, then, my government to use whatever means within its power to use that military i have helped fund to annihilate those who found it necessary to target my home.

War is an ugly business which civilians cannot hope to be spared the ugliness of.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

War is an ugly business which civilians cannot hope to be spared the ugliness of.

If civilians are, ipso facto, part of any war, then why is terrorism an unacceptable method (or so we like to claim when convenient) of waging war?

[Moonliner]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

If civilians are, ipso facto, part of any war, then why is terrorism an unacceptable method (or so we like to claim when convenient) of waging war?

Because it's against us. It's not "terrorism" per say. We'd have a similar reaction if they were carpet bombing New Jersey (well maybe not New Jersey but you get my point) or rolling tanks down main street USA. Any kind of attack on us is unacceptable.

The only issue I see, is that the terrorits when caught are not being treated as prisoners of war but rahter as non-entities without any type of rights. That's not exactly taking the moral high ground.

[Alex]

Jesus Christ! Just a little bit of blasphemy and the board goes down for half-an-hour (or was that just for me, it happened last night as well; the connection kept resetting).

Told you God is petulant.