Rules of Engagement was Re: [extropy-chat] Re: Meta: Too far

[The Avantguardian]

--- Brett Paatsch <bpaatsch at bigpond.net.au> wrote:

> But how can *you* guarantee it Stuart? What does 
> your *guarantee* mean in this context?
> 
> Is it a legal term? Are you promising Samantha or
> others
> that if the military fires at, or bombs  people that
> you 
> personally will make good on any loss?

Sheesh. Too many attorneys on the list. ;) Actually I
may have overstated myself. To rephrase more
accurately, I am certain, to my own satisfaction mind
you, that the U.S. military mandates and takes great
pains these days to make sure that innocent civilians
are not harmed by their soldiers during armed
conflict. The civillian casualties that do occur are
almost all accidents. Those very few soldiers that
purposefully disregard this are brought to justice by
their peers and their chain of command. And to a
certain extent, yes, I do personally feel remorse at
the death of civillians even when I am not the one
pulling the trigger.  

> > In any conflict involving U.S. troops, rules of
> > engagement are very clearly spelled out, flash
> cards
> > summarizing them are issued, and violations are
> taken
> > very seriously.
> 
> In any? ;-)  That is truly a magnificent
> accomplishment.
> Perhaps the military should be running all aspects
> of 
> government and management then, if they have reached
> such sophistication in anticipation and education.

ummmm.... NO. Although there does seem to be a rise in
armed conflicts in American schools these days, using
the military to solve this would be like using a
sledge hammer to fix a toothache.



> Perhaps the US Constitition and the UN Charter
> should
> be relabelled and called the US Rules of Engagement
> and the UN Rules of Engagement.  ;-)

heh. I personally don't think that there will be a one
world goverment unless or until it can be demonstrated
that potentially hostile intelligent life exists
elsewhere in the universe. There just isn't enough
evolutionary pressure to select for it. But if it
should ever, for whatever reason, come about, I hope
whatever charter or constitution the United Nations of
Earth adopts would be based in large part upon the
U.S. Constitution. Even if the barbarians have sacked
our cities by then. 

The Avantguardian 
is 
Stuart LaForge
alt email: stuart"AT"ucla.edu

"The surest sign of intelligent life in the universe is that they haven't attempted to contact us." 
-Bill Watterson


		
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