re: #89 Dark_Falcon

No, the campaign was worth it, even though someone who had not not been part of the plot* died. You can’t dismiss an operation of that size just because of 1 civilian fatality. If that were done, we could never do drone strikes.

*= I do not use the term “innocent person” to describe a grown man in full possession of his mental faculties. The reason for this is I think we’re all guilty of something, though that does not mean said man deserved to die as he clearly did not.

The problem with performing a cost/benefit ratio in this case is giving the potential benefit a much higher weighting than the definite cost. On top of that you are reducing a human life to a mere number so that the cost can be emotionally acceptable. I understand the military thought processes in this but I really don’t agree with it. The potential benefit isn’t based on an understanding of human nature but on a frequently wrong common sense evaluation and the cost doesn’t take into consideration the cost to humans other than the victim.

This epitomizes the difference in thought processes between authoritarians and liberals towards other humans.