[MD] Atomic Bomb

[amir izadi]

> [amirman]
> 
> I'm still waiting to hear if you define the
> > dropping of the A-bombs on Japan as a terrorist
act.
> 
> 
> [Platt]
> No. It saved millions of lives by shortening the
war. 
> 
> [amirman]
> It's hard to argue with this kind of mindset. What
> kinds of lives did the A-bomb save? It destroyed
> infrastructure and killed innocent civilians
> (children, disabled people, non-combatants, women,
> elderly) so that fewer of your soldiers would die??

[platt]
You don't get it. By shortening the war, lives on both
sides, civilian 
and military, were saved. War kills people. Ending the
war stops the 
killing. 

[amirman]

So then in your estimate anything that can shorten a
war is valuable? Killing innocent babies is ok. How
about a bioterrorist attack? I guess we have to judge
the utility of our actions is that it? 

So your saying as long as more lives are saved in the
long run, our actions are justifiable. That's a
simplistic utilitarian philosophy. It doesn't take
into account "how" you live, but "that" you live. By
that token torture would be alright too. Correct? 

If you don't seem to distinguish between soldiers and
civilians, why should the terrorists?

befuddled,
amirman



> Don't you quite see that's exactly what any
terrorist
> could argue? Create terror in society by killing the
> innocents and hopefully that'll prevent a bigger
war.

Terrorists are trying to prevent a bigger war?
Nonsense. They either 
want to attain a political end or, in the case of
radical Islam, kill 
all infidels.  

Confounded,
Platt



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com