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To: rightwing2
And, by the way, regarding the assertion that it is morally wrong in ALL cases where a civilian is hurt/killed, I offer a no-kidding real-world example why that doesn't wash:

19 January, 1991, flight of 8 F-16's over Baghdad, SAM and AAA all over the place (The HUD video is breathtaking—and you will not see it on CNN):
-Number 1 (lead) is shot down and ejects (becomes POW), and Number 3 is flying his butt off, jinking all over the place to avoid being hit by Iraqi missiles and bullets.
-These Iraqi missiles come close, even pass by close enough you can see them on the HUD video—that means REAL close.
-The bomb load is heavy, and airspeed is bleeding off pretty darned quick (you need airspeed to stay alive, to fly out of there).
-As Number 3 loses airspeed he has to descend to get some more knots to keep flying. . .unless. . .
-Number 3 jettisons his bombs so he may get his airspeed back and keep his maneuverability, thus stay alive.
-The jettisoned bombs fall on the suburbs of Baghdad.

Now, are you saying those civilians hurt/killed by the bombs was the result of an immoral act?

Are you saying that there is no justification for injuring those civilians?

Before you answer, consider this: If Number 3 had not jettisoned his bombs, he most assuredly would have been shot down and the flaming wreckage (bombs and all) would have fallen on the same suburb.

The morality of certain actions are subjective and contextual, and by using the world "ALL' in any discussion of warfare is a serious mistake.
94 posted on 08/06/2002 12:51:25 PM PDT by Gunrunner2
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To: Gunrunner2; Scholastic; rond
You obviously missed reading pretty much every E-mail I have written that it is morally wrong to kill a civilian not in ALL cases, but in ALL cases where the slaughter of innocent civilians is intended as the objective or one of the objectives of the attack as was the case in the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Japan. Civilians killed by collatoral damage such as your in your example are clearly acceptable under the Just War Theory which is why Desert Storm qualified as a just war justly fought by the US. Please try to read all of my E-mails on this thread next time you respond to them since if you had you would not have mistated my views here.

The deliberate slaughter of innocent civilians in pursuit of a political or "military" objective is the very definition of terrorism. Accordingly, the US atomic bombings and firebombings of Japanese cities were terrorist acts unworthy of a great and good country like ours. Fortunately, these were the exception to the rule for US military history.
154 posted on 08/08/2002 4:48:12 PM PDT by rightwing2
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