A Moral Conundrum

We have all been horrified by the events in the Middle East of late. The unspeakable savagery of Hamas terrorists, as well as the subsequent mass bombing by Israel in response to the terrorist killings have explicitly shown us the nightmare that violence and war imposes on people. Israel, in particular has been criticized for the deaths of civilians as a result of bombing in Gaza. While civilian deaths are inappropriate, I am reminded of the carpet bombings and use of atomic bombs by the allies in WWII, which killed millions of civilians in Germany and Japan.

During WWII mass bombing with civilian deaths were considered necessary to foreshorten the war, and deal with an evil regime such as the Nazis. For Israel, Hamas is the evil regime that must be eliminated. Thus for them, like the allies in WWII, bombing Gaza is justified.

The issue of civilian deaths in war remains a moral conundrum. We want to avoid it, but war often necessitates such brutality. I refer readers to the post WWII article by Cristopher C. Harmon of the Naval War College, Newport Rhode Island titled: “Are We Beasts” Churchill and the Moral Question of WWII “Area Bombing” (Paper #1, December 1991.) Mr. Harmon offers a thoughtful overview of the morality of civilian deaths in war, an issue most relevant for us today. (Google article)

–Robert Thomas, Castro Valley