One cannot evaluate savagery outside of its context. But like wars, some contexts are more moral than others.
Andrew, I think we are obligated to make that evaluation even if a war is morally justified. In WW II, it is hard for me to justify the incendiary bombings of Hamburg, Dresden, Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki from a purely military perspective. However, that was the way the war was fought to a close and I accept that. There were reasons for those actions--which in the case of Dresden was principally a desire of the British to avenge the Luftwaffe incendiary raid of Coventry. It can be argued also that the Strategic Bombing Program (as it was called) demoralized the enemy and brought the war to an earlier end.
Nonetheless, it most likely resulted in an excessive loss of civilian life. In my opinion, both Germany and Japan did not exhibit regard for innocent lives, and we ended up allied with Josef Stalin, the most prolific mass-murderer in history. But that said, dead prople are dead people whichever side they are on.
I guess I should lighten up on this thread, no?
Lyle |
