SCOPE SCAN - A U.S. Marine uses the scope on his weapon to scan the area while providing security during Operation Steel Dawn II, a clearing operation in Barham Chah, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Oct. 30, 2010. The Marines are assigned to the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. U.S. Marine Corps photoWar Is Hell -- Jonathan Zimmerman, L.A. Times
You can't judge a war by the atrocities committed fighting it.
Most Americans regard World War II as a "just war" because the United States helped stem the vicious tide of global fascism. But during that war, American soldiers dismembered Japanese corpses and collected their body parts as souvenirs.
A contradiction? Not really. You can commit war crimes on behalf of a just war just as easily as an unjust one.
But you wouldn't know that by reading comments about five U.S. soldiers accused of civilian murders this year in Afghanistan.
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
What are foreign-policy consequences of the midterm election results? -- Peter Feaver, Shadow Government/Foreign Policy
How midterm vote will impact US wars -- Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera
Will the Election Change Obama's Iran Policy? -- Tony Karon, Time Magazine
Iran says it's ready to talk: But what about? -- Dmitry Kosyrev, RIA Novosti
How Europe Can Help Build a Palestinian State -- Rory Miller, Real Clear World/Jerusalem Post
The Terrorists That Got Away -- Con Coughlin, Wall Street Journal
Anglo-French force: Cheese-eating surrender monkeys? Non -- Sean Rayment, The Telegraph
French-UK defence treaty born of necessity -- Sam Wilson, BBC
Emperor Erdogan? -- Max Strasser, Foreign Policy
NATO-Russia Relations on the Mend -- Benjamin Bidder, Spiegel Online
Over the Horizon: The British Military's Genetic Mutation -- Robert Farley, World Politics Review
Monetary Policy: Full speed ahead -- The Economist