Originally posted by: Obi Jeewhyen
How does one determine when any particular society is pertrating an evil war?
Basic ethics will do. The idea of a “Just War Theory” has existed in the western world for a very long time. For instance, legitimate authority is usually a very important concept. To rebel against a proper authority or to clearly invade its realm without the defense of human rights and the pursuit of justice as a priority, that would generally be considered an unjust war. In basic terms, if a country perpetrates injustices (or attempts to perpetrate injustices), based upon a common understanding of good and evil, we can then take just action to stop it (so long as the response fits the injustice).
In terms of specifics, the US was not “unprovoked” in the most recent Iraq war according to any reasonable evaluation that I know of. And in terms of totalitarian-controlled societies, their ability to function is still, sadly, a valid war target if they support an unjust war.
Originally posted by: Obi Jeewhyen
I guess I'm just not clear on when civilians are fair game, in your mind. They rarely are in mine. Even if it were determined that civilian infrastructure had to be taken out for legitimate war goals (i.e, a bridge taken out to disrupt economic activity as opposed to disrupting military transport), would you rather bomb the bridge, or the TV station, or the airport in the middle of night, to minimize casualties? Or is killing as many civilians as possible a legitimate war tactic?
If so, is it legitimate as a tactic of extortion (such as a nuclear strike on a metropolitan area) or is the killing of civilians for the express purpose of wiping out a population ever allowable?
Appropriately moderating a response in comparison to a threat is never a clear subject and human beings will always make mistakes. We often go too far when attacking an enemy, or, as is also often the case, not far enough. Directly attacking a civilian population should generally be a last resort. In the case of Japan, convincing the Japanese that we now had the power to utterly defeat them, by detonating atom bombs above two of their cities, might have been the wisest move to make. I am generally of the opinion that it was.