August, 2002

This rant concerns war. More appropriately, the notion that war is wrong and never justified.

Here it comes. “What? You think war is good? What are you?”

I haven’t said that. War is always bad. Wars involve violent force; the wholesale taking of lives to achieve and end. War involves incredible violence and massive destruction. War is not to be glorified; it is to be avoided whenever possible. My quarrel is with those who claim that war is never necessary, and never solves anything.

Let’s take that last point first. Violence has settled more issues in history than anything else. When the other fellow is dead, his opinions cease to matter. Will there be others with his opinion? Of course; and in that sense, violence is never the ultimate end to an argument. But, without picking nits, violence still settles that argument.

Now… War is never necessary? Oh, would that this were true. However, you can’t settle all disputes with discourse or diplomacy. There are times that violence will be necessary, because the other fellow isn’t going to listen to your reason and is going to use violence against you. You can’t argue with a brick wall that’s about to fall on you; you either let it fall through inaction or you destroy it so it can’t harm you.

You can see where this is going. The war in Afghanistan, in my opinion, is inevitable. We- the United States, and her citizens- were attacked by an organized force. The attackers were aided and abetted by a nation-state. These attackers have no intention of listening to our reason or negotiating. These attackers and anyone who would lend them aid are to be dealt with by the only means left… violence. To leave them be invites further attack. Yes, there will be others who agree with them; there will be others who will attack the United States for the same reasons, and they should be dealt with as well. One step at a time.

“But the reason they’re attacking us is our policy towards Israel!” Check that statement. Osama bin Laden has stated many times that his attacks on the US are due to the US’s stationing troops in Saudi Arabia- at the request of the Saudis. “But we were in Saudi because of a war for oil!” We certainly were. Oil sustains this nation. Without foriegn oil, we will have to develop our own domestic sources, at the expense of the habitats where that oil is found. Without oil, our industry and food distribution networks collapse. Without oil, we will soon be cold, dark and hungry. Should we be looking for alternative energy sources? Of course we should! Oil will not last forever, and has many long-term debilitating effects on the environment. We should reduce our dependance on oil; eliminate it, if possible. Until then, we’re going to need it.

“But people die in war! Innocent people!” Yes, they do. This is why war is a tool of last resort. There is no way to wage a bloodless war. There is no perfect “smart bomb”. Innocent people will always die in a war. I’m surprised that so many seem to ignore that fact, and are shocked when civilians are killed. War is, even in these modern times, a blunt club rather than a sharp scalpel.