Fair enough, I did indeed think you were advocating lethal force. Volunteering before the Iraq war doesn't change the fact you only serve of your own free
will - yes, you would be court-martialed, likely jailed, and so forth for refusing to go to Iraq... but the option was there, and indeed American soldiers are
supposed to refuse illegal orders (in fact, there were several soldiers who refused to go to Iraq on those grounds). My point is that they did so of their own
free will, and the fact that they would have faced hardship for refusing doesn't really wash by the same reasoning that has been used to condemn the
pirates (who do their own illegal activities to avoid hardship).
I do not think it is morally justified to kill American prisoners, no, nor to torture them. To quote Gandhi again: "An eye for an eye makes the whole
world blind." I understand WHY, and sympathise with the position of the native Iraqis who resist the occupation, even though what they have done in such
cases is still wrong (and I'll hasten to point out that this has not happened to all American prisoners, of course). Same goes for the American troops in
Iraq. I sympathise with their position, but that does not change the fact that some of them (certainly not all) have done things that are horribly wrong, and
that all of them are guilty of aiding and abetting in an illegal and unjustified war (but the ultimate blame does lie with the government). And so by extension
you have the Somali pirates. What they are doing is wrong and should be stopped, but I understand WHY it happens, and I sympathise with the lives that led most
of them to what they're doing. Therefore I do not think a purely military solution is a morally justified one, especially in light of the culpability of
many European and Asian countries in the situation.
Which is why I sympathise with them more than the people who lead the Pirate Party, whom I have no sympathy for since piracy is a crime with a purely selfish
motive. The pirates are committing a significantly worse crime, but their circumstances and motivations are more sympathetic. Nobody's child was going to
starve to death if a Swedish man didn't illegally download a music album, and Sweden did not suffer under the depredations of the RIAA Overlords within
living memory.
will - yes, you would be court-martialed, likely jailed, and so forth for refusing to go to Iraq... but the option was there, and indeed American soldiers are
supposed to refuse illegal orders (in fact, there were several soldiers who refused to go to Iraq on those grounds). My point is that they did so of their own
free will, and the fact that they would have faced hardship for refusing doesn't really wash by the same reasoning that has been used to condemn the
pirates (who do their own illegal activities to avoid hardship).
I do not think it is morally justified to kill American prisoners, no, nor to torture them. To quote Gandhi again: "An eye for an eye makes the whole
world blind." I understand WHY, and sympathise with the position of the native Iraqis who resist the occupation, even though what they have done in such
cases is still wrong (and I'll hasten to point out that this has not happened to all American prisoners, of course). Same goes for the American troops in
Iraq. I sympathise with their position, but that does not change the fact that some of them (certainly not all) have done things that are horribly wrong, and
that all of them are guilty of aiding and abetting in an illegal and unjustified war (but the ultimate blame does lie with the government). And so by extension
you have the Somali pirates. What they are doing is wrong and should be stopped, but I understand WHY it happens, and I sympathise with the lives that led most
of them to what they're doing. Therefore I do not think a purely military solution is a morally justified one, especially in light of the culpability of
many European and Asian countries in the situation.
Which is why I sympathise with them more than the people who lead the Pirate Party, whom I have no sympathy for since piracy is a crime with a purely selfish
motive. The pirates are committing a significantly worse crime, but their circumstances and motivations are more sympathetic. Nobody's child was going to
starve to death if a Swedish man didn't illegally download a music album, and Sweden did not suffer under the depredations of the RIAA Overlords within
living memory.