Comments on: Ceasefires and Peacetalks: A Satire

By: ComingAnarchy.com » Blog Archive » On War Crimes; or, "What makes it immoral if you lose but not if you win?"Â?

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 16:11:01 +0000

[...] McNamara never comes to grip with the answer: nothing—war is war. Victors judge right and wrong, decide who is a war criminal, and write the history books (mentioned here and here; or see Marmot on the subject here and here). As horrible as the firebombing was, as horrible as Japan’s war in East Asia was, when it comes to war, the victors must fight total war until surrender. Ceasefires and conditional surrenders frequently perpetuate conflict. That is the result of war between great powers. [...]

By: Kushibo

Kushibo — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 10:11:12 +0000

I had thought (prior to Curzon’s clarification) that it was a suggestion that just taking out North Korea right now once and for all would be the best thing to do in the long run. The two lunatics, “Davis, now Pickett,” I thought, were supposed to be Kim Ilsung and son.

By: Curzon

Curzon — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 07:16:15 +0000

No Mike, you were right the first time. I did slightly have Israel-Palestine in the back of my mind, noted with the two vague references to Arafat, but no current analogy was intended. I’m just making a point: peacetalks with terrorists and ceasefires with criminal states often very bad things, and I just used an American history “what if” to make the point ring truer to educated American readers. Remember: peace is bad business for peacemakers!

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 07:05:04 +0000

I am sure it was meant to be aimed at Korea, but the analogy can be extended to any conflict that never sees a resolution. The Civil War ended because one side won. Just imagine the wreck America would be if the UN had existed back in the 1860s, we would probably still be fighting.

By: Kushibo

Kushibo — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 04:03:06 +0000

Africa, Israel, and the Balkans? I thought the veiled analogy was supposed to be Korea. In which case I would add: what a bunch of horse shit.

Oh, wait. It’s a satire.

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 03:45:41 +0000

This cuts to the heart of an important truth: there is no peace without victory. And that is why Africa/Israel/the Balkans will remain at war.

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 00:07:33 +0000

Huzzah! A fantastic post.

By: Alfred Russel Wallace

Alfred Russel Wallace — Fri, 10 Jun 2005 13:09:14 +0000

Amen to Professor Longview – “Negotiations are overrated. Sometimes one side just has to win fair and square and impose a peace from a position of strength.”Ã�?
But lets hope its the right side…….