Arguments Against Pacifism
War is seen as the epitome of evil due to its immense destruction of life buit can leave many countries in ruin, and a large stain in our history books. But even though we ourselves have seen the horrors of war and what it can do, but however in extreme cases it is necessary to engage in war if the cause is deemed just. In more recent times, there have been new debates as to whether or not the fight against terrorism is warranted. For example, America’s fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the 2000’s has killed many civilians and erupted civil unrest in the Middle East making the situation much more explosive. Some may argue that under no circumstances is war justified and argue that pacifism should be the option that all countries should
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The battlefield itself has changed and the distinct line between combatant and noncombatant is now blurred. The main dilemma with modern battles is the fact that America’s enemies no longer hail from a specific country nor do they wear a distinct uniform, these soldiers fight among the civilians. This type of fighting is called Asymmetric warfare, which is war between a professional army and an insurgency. The fact of the matter is that through fighting an enemy that resorts to guerilla warfare can result in accidental civilian deaths. One major issue that clouds over the minds of many is the use of drone strikes. Drone strikes have been used to kill suspected terrorists through targeted killing however, according to an article from the Atlantic, through the use of drone strikes, the “attempts to kill 41 men resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,147 people. The Atlantic also reported in the same article that between January 2012 and February 2013, “U.S. special operations airstrikes killed more than 200 people. Of those, only 35 were the intended targets. During one five-month period of the operation…nearly 90 percent of the people killed in airstrikes were not the intended targets.” This is only one example on how difficult it is to justify attacks on military targets that reside among the
The battlefield itself has changed and the distinct line between combatant and noncombatant is now blurred. The main dilemma with modern battles is the fact that America’s enemies no longer hail from a specific country nor do they wear a distinct uniform, these soldiers fight among the civilians. This type of fighting is called Asymmetric warfare, which is war between a professional army and an insurgency. The fact of the matter is that through fighting an enemy that resorts to guerilla warfare can result in accidental civilian deaths. One major issue that clouds over the minds of many is the use of drone strikes. Drone strikes have been used to kill suspected terrorists through targeted killing however, according to an article from the Atlantic, through the use of drone strikes, the “attempts to kill 41 men resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,147 people. The Atlantic also reported in the same article that between January 2012 and February 2013, “U.S. special operations airstrikes killed more than 200 people. Of those, only 35 were the intended targets. During one five-month period of the operation…nearly 90 percent of the people killed in airstrikes were not the intended targets.” This is only one example on how difficult it is to justify attacks on military targets that reside among the