>It is precisely retributivism that rules out colective punishment, and consequentialism that in principle admits it. Consequentialists contort themselves with implausible explanations of why framing and harming the innocent is wrong (the deception will be discovered, etc.), but they cannot say the one thing that retributivists can say which is the obvious explanation: those people should not be punished because they are innocent.
But, dammit, those Arabs are GUILTY. It was definitely ARABS who carried out the suicide plane attacks on the US. And even if that was not the case, they (Arabs and more particularly the Iraqi Arabs) failed to be WITH America in the war against Iraq. By definition they (Arabs and more particularly the Iraqi Arabs) are GUILTY of being against America! Not innocent.
Vengeance is mine sayeth the retributivists. What's a "Consequentialist" anyhow?
Bill Bartrlett Bracknell Tas