I have been wondering about this for a long time and i really started thinking about it around 3 weeks ago. This was when i began my bombing training. I can now drop 1000 pound laser guided and 500 pound unguided bombs from a harrier GR7. I became i fighter pilot because i loved flying and the RAF is in my history but the dropping of bombs never occured to me to be an issue. I am going to Afghanistan for my first 4 month tour in 9 months next february. I will almost certainly have to drop bombs and i have no doubt in my ability to do so but it is the moral issue i am questioning. I myself try to focus on the positive side of it ie the lives i save by doing so and i think about my brother who is a royal marine whose life has been saved by close air support on a number of occassions and that seems to justify it. However my mother is very religious and thinks all killing is wrong. For me it is not a religious issue as i am an atheist however i think it would be quite souless to say that atheists dont feel anything whilst killing. I myself think that it is a good job done if i drop a bomb and also feel a sense of professional pride but i understand there are lots of people who dont feel that way. I want people to give their opinion on this however i dont want this to turn into a thread about the Iraq war please keep it specific thank you.
You are not evil. You are helping your country as well as their country. Most importantly, you are helping your fellow soldiers. Bottom line, it's you or them.
I have no problem with war-related killing, because like you said your saving lives in the process. Killing the evil for the innocent is a valiant cause not an evil one.
well if you are so accurate that you can kill the enemy without killing innocent civilizes, then I'd say that you aren't evil. And even if you did kill some civilians(not purposely) it's not your fault.. your what 20 thousand feet up in the air trying to air a bomb? many things could go wrong. And anyways, it's the military that's issuing the orders, and you have to follow them or you will go to jail for life.... And that would suck. So your kinda stuck.
I mean some of the weaponry we are using now cluster bombs can be dangerous to civilians. For example some of the casings can remain unexploded for a long time and could indiscriminantly harm civvies. However the UK has agreed to stop manufacturing and using these types of weapons. The US however does not and i find it a little hypocritical of us to condemn a certain weapon but be in a coalition with a country that doesnt.
its not evil, they'd do the same thing to us if they had the chance. my mom's ex-boyfriend lost 11 men trying to disarm a bomb in iraq. my moms new boyfriend was captured and tortured (for information) for 6 or 7 days there. its war.
Yea, it is just war and you are fighting for your country. It isn't evil, it is good. You are trying to stop bad things in other countries which is a good thing.
I mean some of the stories i have heard through the RAF and my bro who is serving on the ground asa royal marine are horriffic. They ensure i dont lose too much sleep at night.
