On the Laws of War
War does not have the same norms of good and evil as peace; and without good and evil, there is no law, no moral choice, and no free will. I note with astonishment an agreement: the “no choice” trope. Hamas “had no choice” but to pogrom; and in response Netanyahu “had no choice” but to bomb. It is as if they were robot boxers hammering at each other, and lacking the free will to get out of the ring.
Fortunately even war has laws, and therefore good and evil, moral choice, and free will. But war’s laws are not the laws of peace; nor are they the “laws of war” so solemnly proclaimed from on high, but more honored in the breach than in the observation. (Such as “no baby-killing”.)
The real laws of war are colder, crueler and more pragmatic than the laws of peace. They include:
“Expect chaos and grief.”
“Obey necessity.”
“Only victory justifies.”
“Competence or death.”
The aim of the laws of peace is to lengthen the peace. The aim of the laws of war is to shorten the war.
No comments:
Post a Comment