Reply #22

comparing the lives lost from that, to a full-scale invasion of Japan.

There was in fact a third way out: Japan had no access to oil reserves. We could simply have starved their military capacity. IMO the war was won on both ends the moment we cut them off from their oil supply. The conventional bombings of cities could be justified by the fact that we didn't have cruise missiles or STUXNET back in the day. That most certainly is NOT the case now.

Yeah, things aren't black and white. My opposition to the use of summary execution is based on that. I also do not count shooting in self-defense to be the same as a summary execution. If you have enemy CBR's moving into position to strike, you should hit them. If you have an army moving to attack you, you should hit them.

The "terrorists" in the Middle East fail to meet either standard. No CBR's being deployed against America, and nobody moving to strike against America. They're merely defending their own turf against us.

Of course we can talk about the War Powers Act and all that stuff, but when it comes to the Middle East, they fail ALL of the necessary requirements that even remotely justify shooting or bombing anyone over there. It's their turf. And when it comes to any use of American force in that region, we are the aggressors.

I know you don't have any family who has been killed by troops, bombers or drones, so I understand why you see this in shades of gray. I know you are an American and you enjoy the privilege of being immune from extrajudicial executions, so again, I understand why you see this in shades of gray. You can't possibly imagine what it's like to be a poor farmer whose kid just got blown up because they were standing in the same market bazaar next to someone that some mysterious empire across the ocean has arbitrarily DECLARED to be a terrorist. What I can tell you, though, is for that farmer whose kid got blown up, it is quite black and white: there was no reason for America to do that. No reason for his kid to die. None.

A civilized society doesn't look for shades of gray when it comes to actions that endanger innocent lives in a place they have no business being, to begin with.