CNN is advertising Anderson Cooper’s upcoming interview with President Obama. I believe it airs tonight.
One of the questions Cooper asks Obama is related to American and American ally involvement in horrible attrocities. The specific question relates to the recent discovery of a mass grave in Afghanistan. Apparently, a warlord ally of the US rounded up a bunch of Taliban and forced them into trucks and “somehow” a bunch of them died.
In responding to the inquiry, President Obama referred to the Laws of War.
Let me say this: if you think there are laws in war, then you are doing war wrong. There are no laws in war. The objective behind war is plain and simple: cause as much pain and destruction to your enemy as required to cause them to capitulate and surrender. There is absolutely no other rational consideration.
Does this sound harsh and vicious? It should. This is why war is such a terrible prospect. If you make war easy and relatively painless, then people have no reason to fear and avoid it. If war involves a rain of hugs and puppies, there are people — Al Qaeda maybe — who will actually seek to provoke you to it.
No, war should be so terrible that even the most sadistic of religions have never imagined an apolocalypse to match. Such chaos is beyond the reach of any law or regulation.
[...] presents Laws of War posted at Trey Givens, saying, “It would seem that Obama fails to comprehend the nature of [...]
It is refreshing to read about a proper theory of warfare. I am often villainized for my cold attitude towards any Statist country that attacks other nations. Thankfully, military tactics such as assassination, arming a resistance inside the enemy nation, and percision bombing of military and economic installations can minimize the loss of life in warfare. For example, if one were to, today, kill the Supreme Leader, the President, and all members of the Guardian Council of Iran in unision, it is conceivable that Mousavi could fill the vacuum and obtain the Presidency. Such a brilliant move would save the money and lives of whatever innocent victims remain within the borders of the country. It would also save the money and lives of Americans who would, at some point time, be forced to deal with this demon of a nation.
I don’t know if going to war with Iran in particular is proper, but I do know that if one should choose to go to war one should choose to win. It is incomprehensible to me that one might attempt to somehow compromise between one’s own safety and well-being and the relative comfort of one’s enemies.