Re: Human Warefare
Reply #8 - December 30, 2009, 11:27 PM
In general, I look at warfare in terms of practicality (the object is to win, and it is friggen serious not to be taken lightly), which can/should be tempered with ethics (The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius once said that no matter how much a barbarian your enemy is, do not become one yourself).
I also see a difference when talking about total war, and non state/organization terrorism, police/peacekeeping/humanitarian missions, and so forth.
In general terrorism is a tactic, so how indiscriminate it is, the motives and intentions, the practicality, how the actions are viewed by the perpetrators, and more factors.
I'll give an example, on a small scale.
You are manning a .50cal and doing an MSR patrol. From the 3 o'clock you start getting small arms fire. You fire back, but realize that there are a group of mud houses, most likely housing civilians who are not involved in any of this including children, directly behind them. You know that your rounds would go though their walls. You try and aim as perfect as you can, but it is night time and a Mama douce is not a very accurate weapon. Their fire is no longer a threat to you, as they missed completely and you are able to break contact easy....Do you try and hose them down or do you hold fire?
Now...they are a serious group, RPGs, IEDs, and they already disabled a truck, and you are way outnumbered. They could overrun you soon, kill you or capture you and put you on a snuff film. Do you still hold fire out of concern about the people in those houses? Do you call in an airstrike?
I think that is a good example, on a small scale, that illustrates the moral and ethical questions faced in war.
The foundation of superstition is ignorance, the
superstructure is faith and the dome is a vain hope. Superstition
is the child of ignorance and the mother of misery.
-Robert G. Ingersoll (1898)
"Do time ninjas have this ability?" "Yeah. Only they stay silent and aren't douchebags." -Ibl