Is the accidental killing of civilians by US forces, in places like Somalia, an unavoidable part of the war on terrorism?

by Sojourner Ruth

To answer this question, I want first to challenge the notion of 'war' as applied to those acts and ideologies that we refer to as 'terrorism.' To discuss "the war on terrorism" as though this were an uncontroversial term...read more

by Nick Goundry

When a state of war is declared against an enemy that exists more often as a concept than a distinct individual, collateral damage that is, the death of innocent civilians becomes an almost inevitable by-product of the c...read more

by Chief K.Masimba Biriwasha

The boundaries of today's war on terrorism are highly obscure, making it highly improbable for US forces to avoid civilian casualties, in places like Somalia, and others perceived to harbor terrorists. Terrorists, some...read more

by Carel Two-Eagle

In any war, the accidental killing of civilians by US and other forces is an unavoidable fact. Moreover, in any war, it is expected that civilians will be killed by the forces of each side. Generals and other officers...read more

by Nathan Hook

Even with today's advanced weapons and the increased reliance on small, special forces teams to engage and eliminate known terrorists cells, it likely that there will be some civilian casualties since war is not, nor ever ...read more

by David Thornton

The accidental killing of civilians is an unavoidable part of modern warfare. In spite of huge technological advances in weapon systems and weapons delivery, in any war civilians are going to be killed accidentally. The fa...read more

by Larry Nocella

The sad truth is that if guns and bombs are used by any party anywhere, some innocents are going to be in the wrong place, and killed. So the short answer to the question is yes. Yes, the killing of civilians is unavoidabl...read more

by Carlos Blount

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A WAR ON TERRORISM. AMERICA USES THIS TERM TO START WAR WITH COUNTRIES THAT THEY SIMPLY DON'T LIKE. Saudi Arabia funds terrorism, North Korea has nuclear implications, and so does Iran, but there'...read more

by Gerhard Adam

There are two interesting words used in the question that bear some consideration. The first is the word "accidental". While the killing of civilians may be unintentional, there is nothing accidental about using weapons ...read more

by Carrington M. Nye

Is the accidental killing of civilians by US forces, in places like Somalia, an unavoidable part of the war on terrorism? The conflict the US encountered in Somalia was not part of our War on Terroism, it was a humanita...read more

by Colette Georgii

MANY MORE INNOCENT CIVILIANS ARE KILLED BY THE DELIBERATE ACTS OF TERRORISM THAN BY ACCIDENTAL KILLINGS BY THOSE TRYING TO STEM TERRORISM After the airstrike on the terrorist training camp in southern Somalia, this is w...read more

by Robert C. Sage

Collateral damage happens in every war, although efforts are made to minimize and avoid it. In the case of foreign intervention, the killing of civilians, albeit perhaps unintended, can have major and profound impacts on ...read more

by Carole Silverman

When President Bush sent our troops to Iraq, I wrote him a letter, which supported the action that he took. The letter that I wrote to him is as follows: April 12, 2003 Dear President Bush: The action you took wi...read more

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by Beverly Fisher

The Governments of each Country should be responsible for protecting their own citizens. They should be and are well informed; of the logistics from the assistance from outside countries;when the assistance will be gi...read more

by Justin Mccauley

Is there such a thing as an accidental killing or an accidental wounding when an action is premeditated or preordained by a nameless official in a hidden office far, far away from the actual conflict? The war on ter...read more

by Andrew Woodman

As sickening as it is to accept, civilian casualties are sadly becoming a reality in today's conflicts, let alone a possibility. This is especially the case of the guerrilla warfare that is commonly taking place today. The...read more

by Marcus Brooks

The U.S. campaign against terror has lasted six, long years. This global offensive spearheaded by President Bush had its triumphs and failures. Recently, a terror suspect wanted in the 83' bombing of a Marines barracks i...read more

by V. Kumar

"In the magical universe there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. Nothing happens unless someone wills it to happen", so says William S. Burroughs. In my opinion, magical or not, there is nothing like a co...read more

by Haley Mcnelly

War on terrorism. We hear those words so often that many, I fear do not think how ridiculous it sounds. Terrorism, on terrorism. It nearly means the same thing. That opinion may seem un-american to some, and I apologiz...read more

by Irwin Gelding

"Men are more moral than they think and far more immoral than they can imagine."-Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) The argument of accidental killing is malignant. The argument can only be resolved by slicing into the truth of...read more