Re:Some Cautionary Notes on the New ‘Knife Missile’
by JohnBooty on Monday May 13, 2019 @09:06AM
(#19898826)
The fact that the US military has no qualms with killing random innocent civilians
Factually untrue.
You can say the U.S. military doen't care nearly enough about it. Fine. Now we're in the realm of opinion. I'd probably agree.
But "no qualms?"
If you want to see a military power with literally "zero qualms" look at regimes like Assad in Syria, using indiscriminate chemical attacks in civilian areas. That is what "no qualms" looks like.
Or look at landmines.
Suicide bombers in civilian areas.
Large-yield nuclear weapons.
High-altitude carpet bombing runs.
Those are "no qualms" weapons.
Even a standard explosive drone-launched Hellfire missile is a weapon of extreme precision and minimal collateral damage compared to any other explosive weapons that have been used for the last hundred years or so.
It would be utter madness to spin Hellfire missile strikes as benevolent acts of kindness. They are acts of violence that sometimes hurt and kill innocents and thinking about that should make anybody with a conscience feel ill.
But as far as those sorts of things go, characterizing their use as "no qualms with killing random innocent civilians" is just untrue. They are remarkably focused compared to just about any other method of killing people from great distances that humans have managed to invent.
There are plenty of injustices perpetrated by the U.S. military. We don't need to invent or exaggerate them. It doesn't help the cause of legitimate criticism.
You can say the U.S. military doen't care nearly enough about it. Fine. Now we're in the realm of opinion. I'd probably agree.
But "no qualms?"
If you want to see a military power with literally "zero qualms" look at regimes like Assad in Syria, using indiscriminate chemical attacks in civilian areas. That is what "no qualms" looks like.
Or look at landmines.
Suicide bombers in civilian areas.
Large-yield nuclear weapons.
High-altitude carpet bombing runs.
Those are "no qualms" weapons.
Even a standard explosive drone-launched Hellfire missile is a weapon of extreme precision and minimal collateral damage compared to any other explosive weapons that have been used for the last hundred years or so.
It would be utter madness to spin Hellfire missile strikes as benevolent acts of kindness. They are acts of violence that sometimes hurt and kill innocents and thinking about that should make anybody with a conscience feel ill.
But as far as those sorts of things go, characterizing their use as "no qualms with killing random innocent civilians" is just untrue. They are remarkably focused compared to just about any other method of killing people from great distances that humans have managed to invent.
There are plenty of injustices perpetrated by the U.S. military. We don't need to invent or exaggerate them. It doesn't help the cause of legitimate criticism.