> What is the alternative? There probably are good ones, but (a) that
> alone does not support incredulity at the suggestion of military action,
> (b) we need to hear them, or some other legitimate criticism of military
> action has to be offered.
>
> Thoughts?
Another possibility that doesn't get much explicit notice is that military action might be a good thing depending heavily on who is doing and by what authority (for example, Juan Cole has suggested a multinational force to occupy Iraq, comprised of its neighbors). Given the post-WWII use of the US military, particularly for humanitarian purposes, I'd expect any humanitarian occupation by the US to do good only by accident.
It's not that there's some physical law preventing military action from doing good, it's just that past experience suggests you shouldn't expect it to.
-- Andy