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Collateral Damage


Click to see larger image  (choose image 7 under April 6), 

In MSNBC's defense,  there were "a few" of those. like this one to the left,but the overwhelming majority are the victory images.  On that point ,  the contrast is most glaring in religious groups showing images of soldiers praying,  like the Southern Baptist news images mentioned by Parham in the article.  For religious groups to employ such "sterilization" of war and emphasize and encourage "victory" just shows how thouroughly duped Christians have been about the real moral issues in war.  The ends do not justify the means.  That's the emphasis that many people have ascribed to communist philosophy,  and now it seems that this is the overiding philosophy of the "victors",  and so glaringly portrayed in Parham's  quote from the sharpshooter below:


"An example of just war theory's dark side occurred when Marine Sgt. Eric Schrumpf, a sharpshooter, killed an Iraqi woman standing too near an Iraqi soldier. "I'm sorry," he told the New York Times. "But the chick was in the way. "

In the name of "going for Saddam",  we dropped bunker buster bombs that blow not only downward but in all directions,  destroying and killing "other than Saddam" at an alarming rate.  Collateral Damage of this kind does NOT qualify for just war.  Anticipated civilian casualties that we cause as "regrettable deaths" are not acceptable.   These people have no fault, and no defense.  The US and the coalition also have no defense.

I just heard a military person say "Our military credibility has never been higher",  and I shake my head.  If might means right,  and credibility,  then yes.  But "credibility" for me includes "morality",  and the US is at a low point for many in the theological communities in the US and many in the general international community.  The same guy who said "our credibility has never been higher" also says that since our military prestige is high,  and international prestige is low,  that "we should now turn this military victory into political victory" 

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Last update: 9/23/2003; 3:40:01 PM.