[ExI] The Death Toll Imbalance in the Mideast War

[John Grigg]

 Harvey wrote:
Unfortunately, it now appears that the American people cannot distinguish
mock patriotism from real righteousness.  I am appalled at how easily the
U.S. fell right into the patterns of Animal Farm and 1984.
Double-speak-talk-good!
Some people are more equal than others.
>>>

I agree.  I remember living in a rural area in Arizona and most of the
locals could not understand that you could support the troops (as in not
turning your back on them, cursing them,etc.,) and yet disagree with the
war, or at least how it was being carried out.  I learned this the hard way
when I made a comment in a local bank and got lots of icy stares! lol

The Republicans are very good at manipulating the so-called Middle America
through false patriotism and religious appeals, as we have discussed here
before.  And ironically, Republican economic policies tend to grind these
very same people down.

Stathis wrote:
Humanitarian impulses are not at the forefront when your country is being
invaded. If the US nuking Japan was morally justifiable,then would it also
have been morally justifiable for Iraq to nuke a couple of large US cities
to prevent an invasion?
>>>

But I feel some of the folks here (Stathis, and others I argued with
earlier) have a twisted view of things themselves, due to the overwhelming
impulse to make false and quite frankly very insulting comparisons.  The
above statement by Stathis is a perfect example of this.  I can't believe he
wrote such a stupid suggestion!

Imperial Japan perpetrated mass murder and rape throughout Asia and the
Pacific.  The Rape of Nanking was probably the apex of their war crimes.  It
was something reminiscent of how death and torture was carried out in
ancient or medieval times, due to the degree of barbarism shown.  And don't
forget about the many thousands of young women forced by them into lives of
prostitution.  The victims have still not received a satisfactory apology
from Japan.

The U.S. was facing the possibility of a hundred thousand casualties if we
did a massive invasion of the Japanese home islands.  And so nukes were used
to quickly bring Japan's government to their knees.  This actually saved a
vast number of lives on both sides, probably over a million.  And even if
part of the reason for this was to show the Russians the level of our
resolve to stand up to them, well, I'm glad to not be living in an
irradiated wasteland because the Russkies thought they could actually attack
us (or our allies) and get away with it.

And as for Iraq, they needed regime change because they had a monster at the
top known as Saddam Hussein.  He terrorized *his own* people with mass
murder and the occasional rape of women who caught his eye.  Should this man
and his twisted government been accorded the moral right to use nukes
against U.S. cities, if he'd had them? lol  Do you really think he should
have?

And so for you you, Stathis, to actually suggest the Stalin-like regime
of Iraq had the right to nuke the U.S. since we used nukes on Japan, when
Japan deserved it, is to show your moral bankruptcy and plain stupidity.

John
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