Did you feel bad about a civilian killed in Iraq? Japan? WTC?

sirio11 · #1 08-16-2005, 11:40 AM

[ QUOTE ]

I agree completely, its important that we keep murdering foreigners in order that we can make small improvements in our standard of living.

Mack

[/ QUOTE ]

Mackthefork made the above statement as a response in sarcasm mode to another poster, but got me thinking, do people really think at all about all these murdered foreigners?

Have they ever think of all the inocent people killed by the American Army? Are they in their prayers?

2 or 3 days ago I read a story about 9-11. It was about a couple and their 3 year old baby that were in the UA 175 flight. I could only imagine their last moments holding their son. I almost cry thinking in my own 2 year old son.
But I'm pretty sure that if I was able to know similar stories about how people in Iraq lost their son in a random morning when they were ready to have breakfast, or how a mother in Japan have to watch her family die one morning in August 1945, I felt equally touched.

What's up with some people in this country? What do they feel?

The funny thing is that I'm almost no religious at all. And I'm pretty sure most of this people are "devoted" Christians. Go figure.

bobman0330 · #2 08-16-2005, 11:44 AM

This is an interesting post, but it would be more interesting if you cut back on the use of the perjorative "murdered."

sirio11 · #3 08-16-2005, 11:59 AM

Fair enough, change to killed.

beta1607 · #4 08-16-2005, 12:06 PM

Yes - It is sad and terrible when any civilian dies. This is one of the reasons we spend billions developing guided weapons systems that can put a bomb through a air-conditioner vent and so we don't have to carpet bomb like in WWII.

DVaut1 · #5 08-16-2005, 12:54 PM

[ QUOTE ]
This is one of the reasons we spend billions developing guided weapons systems that can put a bomb through a air-conditioner vent

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=...;u_sid=1482603

superleeds · #6 08-16-2005, 12:59 PM

[ QUOTE ]
This is one of the reasons we spend billions developing guided weapons systems that can put a bomb through a air-conditioner vent and so we don't have to carpet bomb like in WWII

[/ QUOTE ]

It's because it's more efficient and economical. Morals don't come into it.

As to the OP, I feel bad as you do, when I read/hear individual stories with context, with background. But when I read a general story which contains information on a marine dying or an Iraqi dying I can't say I really feel any change. The same for any moment in history.

beta1607 · #7 08-16-2005, 01:26 PM

Nobody claimed it was perfect - just much much better then before.

beta1607 · #8 08-16-2005, 01:34 PM

[ QUOTE ]
It's because it's more efficient and economical. Morals don't come into it.

[/ QUOTE ]

All three are factors - the military needed to capacity to hit high value targets in urban areas without taking out 3 city blocks, regardless of how you view their motives for not wanting to take out civilians morals or PR disaster doesn't change the fact that it is one of the reasons we developed these weapons was to reduce 'collateral damages'.

microbet · #9 08-16-2005, 07:56 PM

[ QUOTE ]
It's because it's more efficient and economical. Morals don't come into it.

[/ QUOTE ]

You have any data to support that? Once we control the sky do you really think it would be cheaper to use these expensive sophisticated weapons than to drop a bunch of cheap junk? Maybe even stuff leftover from vietnam? Not to mention nukes which would be much much cheaper.

There may be some non-angelic reasons like we'd like to end up with a usable country that can produce oil or something like that, but I wouldn't even put it past the military to think that killing fewer people is better.

Arnfinn Madsen · #10 08-16-2005, 08:14 PM

I feel sorry for all three groups. The lack of discussion/focus on this side of the Iraq war in the US really disappoints me and makes it clear for me that there is a clear divide between US and European mentality on these issues and that Europe should try to become more independent of the US. Too much has been achieved on this continent (with help from US after WWII) in understanding that a man of another nationality has his value and rights even if he looks different, to throw it into the bucket to please a cynical superpower.