>Without benefit of a formal, legal declaration, the Admin clearly
>waged war against the Taliban regime, not just al-qaida. But
>suppose there was no regime, analogous to Somalia. For all
>practical purposes war could still be waged against al-qaida.
>War is something more specific than 'the war on drugs' or 'the
>war on terrorism,' but not so narrow that it couldn't be applied
>to OBL's network.
Well, I disagree. War against al-Qaeda is as absurd to me as war against the mafia. Al-Qaeda is not a nation, but an organization, and as such it should be the target of an international law enforcement effort. Not a war, which will invariably ensnare many innocents in the conflagration.
>As for the bombing, you mean you have yet to see a justification
>that you accept. There has been plenty of justification offered here.
>Nor is any needed. You have already lost that debate. It was lost
>before it started.
I haven't seen a justification which disposes of the notion that all non-violent avenues were exhausted before resorting to violence. Clearly they were not, which is one reason I oppose the bombing. If the US doesn't have to bind itself to the principle of violence as last resort, how can we insist that others adhere to it? What principle, besides those of the "us vs. them" and "might makes right" variety, makes the 9/11 attack reprehensible and the bombing of the Afghanistan justifiable?
After my initial shock at the 9/11 attack had worn off, I thought the US would bomb somebody, somewhere in retaliation. It was obvious that this was the likely response. There was never a "debate" to win or lose. As for violence not needing any justification, I'm not sure what to say in response.
>In any case, my impression is that bombing anywhere near civilians
>is largely over. The new peacenik bad politics position is that
>the U.N. should arrange safe passage to all the bad guys in Kunduz
>so that justice will be served (not).
Max, I'm curious. Do you think the Afghan civilians who died because of our bombardment deservere any sort of consideration? Should the US compensate their relatives? Do we owe them anything?
Brett