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Originally Posted by Letum
So if you could win a war a hour faster by inflicting multiplue genocides, you would
have no quams in doing that if it ment a shorter war (by a hour) and less or equal of
your own forces lost (in this case equal) ?
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Haisplitting. If you need to construct such an excessicve example trying to find a weak spot in my argument, then I think you have lost your cause out of sight.
However, to answer your question I refer to the more reasonable example of america using the A-bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It speeded up victory. It drastically reduced losses of US forces. It killed plenty of civilians. It saved even more civilians in the long run, probably. I consider it to have been the right decision.
and you probabaly misunderstood me when saying "or equal of your forces lost". I am no fan of suicide attacks. However, in principle there are many situations in a war where the success of a given mission or operation is mandatory and must be achieved, while the survival of the single soldier or unit is secondary to that only. However, I had something different on my mind, and maybe shoul,d refer to the mental attitude of Samurai who neither evaded nor sought for their own death, but fought when their lord demanded it, or when they were demanded to do so by their code of honour. Considerations that this action maybe could mean their death, often did not have any space, it would have hampered theior combat skills and impuriefied their needed mental balance and attitude towards death, that was that death is part of life and there is no reason in wishing for it, or hating it. their honour code and their obligation towards their lord made it more obligatory that they would fight and win - even if they only could acchieve that by loosing their own life. If you fear for your life, you cannot totally concentrate on killing the enemy. If the latter is not the priority anyway, you eventually find yourself with having problems: being hesitant, fearsome, undecided. Bad way to launch a fight.
When the British sailors in the Gulf were captured by the Iranians some time ago, there were some voice accusing the British soldiers that they did not fight back. They replied, that they were not in a position to fight, sitting like lame ducks in rubber boats, with the Iranians approaching fast attack bolats and heavy machine guns. I certainly do not tell the sailors they should have sacrificed themselves , but nevertheless the normality today that western people take it as granted that the survival of their society's "warriors" is more impotant than not to fall back to a challenge by an detemrined enemy, is striking. It reminds of the disgust for death by which Muslim armies fought against crusaders, who were regarding armour and weapons superior. But Christian armies since then fight in order to live, while muslim armies back then and today's suicide attckers fight with not being hindred at all by the perpsective of themselves being killed. that'S why they strike in so daring ways. the Gulf incident I do not consider to have the immediate importance to justify the British sailors getting killed , but in the long run - who knows. Some unpleasant mental weakness was illustrated here: we fear for our life, and if you threaten our life, we will fall back. Seen that way, our culture suffered a clear defeat on that day, and it encouraged islamic fighters. concenring the incident i have another qurstion: what devil was sitting on the captain's shoulder to make him have highly fragile rubber boats operating in potentially hostile waters outside the engagement range of the frigate's (or was it a destroyer) weapons systems? the proper way of action would have been to warn the iranians once, and then blow them out of the water. Hell, this has not been a bathing trip of some tourists, but official representatives of the armed service of her royal majesty the queen of england. Obviously that means nothing anymore. So why not deleting the title and bring in the flag?
Now compare that to the Spartans while their king decided to head for the Themopyles!
I think you know perfectly now were I stand, and I have a dinner in kitchen waiting to be prepared. So I am out here now.