I believe in the ethics of a pre-emptive strike. I am kind of confusing myself as I write this, but when I thought about all of the possible causes for a pre-emptive strike, they made sense. In Traitor, we saw the effects of the pre-emptive strike. They were trying to hunt down the terrorist group before they were able to strike based on Samir’s tip. In that case, Samir had attacked the terrorists before the FBI was able to show up, but it is possible to save a lot of lives by using pre-emptive strikes. Just think, if the US government knew about 9-11 before hand (conspiracy theories aside), wouldn’t you hope that they would have stopped the attack? I know it’s wishful thinking, but it seems to me that if you have the reasonable proof and evidence of an attack, it makes sense to stop it. With the example of the atomic bomb, I understand why Truman allowed the attack. While any loss of life is terrible, when death is unavoidable, I can see this sense in striking before necessary. However, it can conflict with the doctrine of just war by making a move before war is really called for. In my opinion, pre-emptive strikes can be called for when there is an attack coming on civilians or it’s an act of terror, but other times it can be unnecessary and damaging to people and societies.
To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school…it is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically, but practically. – Henry David Thoreau
You make compelling points, Evelyn. However, the war on terror can be hydra-headed: for every terrorist cell or or terrorist plot eliminated, a few more emerge to take their place. If the war on terror have taught us anything, it's that brute force alone isn't sufficient to terminate terrorism. In my opinion, pre-emptive strikes can be effective if they are combined with a more comprehensive approach in the region we are drawing a cross on, which includes economic and educational opportunities.
ReplyDeleteI believe that pre-emptive strikes defeat the true purpose of war, which in my opinion is to solve issues through dedication and perserverence. Although i do not believe war is ever a great option, i think that there have been certain wars that were necessary. How ever i do not think that pre-emptive strikes ever teach any lessons, they simply create fear and cause casualties and it is truly below the belt move if you ask me.
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