What’s Lost
I think this is well worth the read. In today's Washington Post is an op-ed from Frank Schaeffer that describes a bit about things that can go horribly wrong even in a "good" war.
"I saw an ugly sight: a British officer interrogating a civilian, and repeatedly hitting him about the head with the chair; treatment which the [civilian], his face a mask of blood, suffered with stoicism. At the end of the interrogation, which had not been considered successful, the officer called on a private and asked him in a pleasant, conversational sort of manner, 'Would you like to take this man away, and shoot him?' The private's reply was to spit on his hands, and say, 'I don't mind if I do, sir.'
The description is of the Second World War, a "good" war as we count such things today. You really should read the whole thing, it is a vital perspective. War will never be perfect or "good" in an absolute sense. But it is sometimes necessary, although we can wish it someday will not be.
You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace.
Major General William Tecumseh Sherman
UPDATE: Do not miss Villainous Company on this subject. A must read.
By Jim O'Hara, Monday, 5 June , 2006 @ 6:08 am
> War will never be perfect or “good” in an absolute sense.
Was this your view before the invasion? Or are you now using these truisms as a defense for what happened in Haditha? I ask because I used these truisms as part of my argument why the invasion was a bad idea back in 2002. The reponse by my pro-war friends was that what happened in past wars wouldn’t happen in Iraq. It reminded me of a lefty arguing why some new socialist program would succeed when it was based on the same economic fallacies as previous failed programs. “It would be different this time.” When Abu Ghraib made headlines, I was told that it was an anomoly; a few “bad apples.”
I dunno Gaius, I don’t disagree with your point in this post, but I wonder if you really accepted these facts (and the fallout they produce) during your original support of the invasion of Iraq.
My question to you: How badly do things like this impact the image of America in the Middle East? Do they overshadow the good we’re doing, the billions we’re spending each week? I’d be curious to see some polling on the view of those in the middle east towards America.
Jim
By Gaius, Monday, 5 June , 2006 @ 6:36 am
Those have always been my views on war. I come from an Army family. I think the uproar the press is creating over this harms us more than an actual event.