tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post921369586584902919..comments2024-03-23T19:16:01.555-07:00Comments on Can it happen here?: A qualification for a Presidential contender?janinsanfranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07548452260456734928noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-13154992745647299212007-01-14T10:07:00.000-08:002007-01-14T10:07:00.000-08:00Nell -- I've often thought that a general might be...Nell -- I've often thought that a general might be our best bet -- and feared that the US military might get tired of being misued by civilian nincompoops and decide to rid themselves of these morons. <br /><br />My relatives felt that Eisenhower showed some of the restraint we might hope for in a president, though if I'd been of age, I certainly would have preferred Stevenson.<br /><br />But then, we do know that the military is quite heavily populated by theocrats of the Boykin stripe these days and that is not comforting.janinsanfranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07548452260456734928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-25543785239378630162007-01-13T05:36:00.000-08:002007-01-13T05:36:00.000-08:00I can't believe I'm saying this, after his role in...I can't believe I'm saying this, after his role in the Balkans, but... the answer to your question is Wesley Clark.Nellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01969732734453586544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-18205633845964214452007-01-08T21:10:00.000-08:002007-01-08T21:10:00.000-08:00John: I agree of course that war itself has become...John: I agree of course that war itself has become morally unacceptible. It probably always was, but the technological means now available, even to non-state actors, make launching a war unthinkable to a moral actor, I hope.<br /><br />That said, I don't expect our politicians to have the courage to renounce using our overwhelming force. In them, I'd settle for some common sense and humanity -- enough to act as some restraint.janinsanfranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07548452260456734928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-86801267800410848622007-01-08T18:28:00.000-08:002007-01-08T18:28:00.000-08:00I'm not sure what proportionality looks like in mo...I'm not sure what proportionality looks like in modern warfare, or whether it is even possible. I think traditional "just war" norms as developed in the Western ethical and religious traditions have essentially become obsolete since the advent of aerial bombing, guerrilla warfare, and the mobilization of civilian populations in modern total war. Nobody follows them, because war as we know it essentially would become impossible.<br /><br />Which is the point: war is impossible. We have to evolve toward nonviolence if we are going to survive as a species. In the meantime, however, what would "proportionality" look like in the War on Terror? Hunting down and killing known terrorists? Complete economic and military embargoes on countries that finance them?<br /><br />I have trouble imagining a strategy of proportionality that doesn't encourage terrorist recruitment efforts and/or punish innocent civilians in the process.Fr. Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06647311951078750640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11093162.post-20239902066242379882007-01-08T14:14:00.000-08:002007-01-08T14:14:00.000-08:00I don't particularly care about the 2008 president...I don't particularly care about the 2008 presidential candidates. I'm just praying the lunatics running this country and Israel don't destroy the world before that time.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.com