suicide/homicide >tags

[andie nachgeborenen]

So what are you saying, Luke, suicide bombing lacks
any redeeming merits, but maybe not, because it makes
Israel have to think about negotiating? This tension
shows the limits and stupidities of your
utilitarianism. Here's a real life version of the
"framed!" counterexample. the utilitarian has to
entertain the possibility that it may be morally
right, indeed morally obligatory, to blow up
discoteques full of teenagers, buses carrying grandmas
and babies, coffee shops packed with Israeli opponents
of Sharon's policies, if that will have beneficial
results. That's pretty sick, if you ask me. 

But, moreover, it's manifestly untrue that the suicide
bombing campaign has had good effects of thsi sort. On
the contary, it has handed Sharon, a war criminal with
blood up to his neck, two administrations and a
mandate to do pretty much what he likes, a nd has
totally marginalized the peace and negotiations party
in Israel. The Intifadeh, when it was fairly peaceful
(violence limited to stone throwing and the like), did
put pressure on Israel to negotiate. And I don't see
how any fair-minded pesron could object to Palestinian
military attacks on the Israeli occupying forces,
though whether these would be prudent would have be
carefully assessed. But suicide bombings have been a
strategic as well as a moral disaster.

jks

--- Luke Weiger <lweiger at umich.edu> wrote:
> Justin wrote:
> 
> 
> > Just a question for the curious: do you think
> > "martyrdom" or suicide bombing, whatever you want
> to
> > call it, is a morally acceptable and/or
> politically
> > prudent method of struggle?
> >  jks
> 
> This is actually a difficult question.  Although the
> suicide bombing of the
> current intifada obviously lacks any redeeming
> merits, it is only because of
> the threat of future acts of Palestinian terrorism
> that Israel is at all
> inclined to negotiate, right?
> 
> -- Luke
> 

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com