Re:Raytheon High-Energy Laser
by bmitc on Sunday February 12, 2023 @07:13PM
(#34768613)
The inanity and insanity of humans is that we have rules for our violence, from war to fighting sports.
[ Parent
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People often forget that "proper" wars are really just another facet of diplomacy, with certain rules to be followed.
Incidentally, no, what Russia is doing in Ukraine is not even anywhere remotely close to a "proper" war.
Re:Raytheon High-Energy Laser
by gnad_sucks on Sunday February 12, 2023 @08:13PM
(#34769005)
Thank you for your perspective, I agree on both counts. Sorry youre getting downvoted, but this is HN after all.
Re:Raytheon High-Energy Laser
by l33t233372 on Sunday February 12, 2023 @09:38PM
(#34769539)
What you describe may have existed for parts of a few hundred years in areas of Europe, but it’s not the rule, and it’s certainly not the case today.
my current favourite are the melee rules chinese/indian army has in the mountains
Became aware of this after reading Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson! Great book. There's a small subplot involving the Line of Actual control (LAC), which is what made me first aware of these rules.
China is slowly flanking India by quietly annexing strategic territory: https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/05/07/china-bhutan-border-vil...
Re:Raytheon High-Energy Laser
by shrimp_emoji on Sunday February 12, 2023 @08:03PM
(#34768941)
It was a lot more insane in WW1, before we had these rules.
For example, they deployed gas that makes people vomit so soldiers can't keep masks on, followed by gas that dissolves the lungs so they suffocate on their own blood. Stuff that makes dying by conventional means merciful.
My point is a bit of a dual one. The fact that we both have rules and need the rules support the inanity and insanity of it all.
The defenders of a territory under attack aren't put in that position by any real choice of their own - none that is practical anyway. Being able to live with themselves after the conflict is over, being able to re-integrate them into civilized society, is an important facet of maintaining a peaceful society.
You don't plan for everything going well (no one ever goes for war). You plan for when things don't.
The Unmitigated Pedantry dude (shows up on this site a bit) makes a decent argument that chemical weapons mostly were abandoned because they don’t work against top-tier militaries, not really because we decided wars should be polite after WW1.
https://acoup.blog/2020/03/20/collections-why-dont-we-use-ch...