Re: DU Issue

[Phillip Hypes <phypes@nis5.lanl.gov>]

Teaching a law of war class is one of the more difficult tasks instructors
at Military schools have to complete.  There are always those with the
"war is chaos, there's no point in trying to regulate it" philosophy.
However,
without the Army's excellent record of complying with the laws of war, many
Iraqui soldiers may have chosen to fight it out instead of surrindering.
Toward
the end of WWII, the average German soldiers' greatest fear was being
captured by the Russians, while being captured by the Americans was seen
as one of the best possible ends to any individual's war experience.  
Captured American soldiers also received better treatment (in general) than
soldiers of other countries.  The "civilized, therefore easier to condone"
argument is one I don't think I've heard before, but it doesn't change the
fact
that the laws of war are based on basic moral truths;  one of the best reasons
to follow them is that they really are the "right thing to do."  Even when all
parties follow the laws of war, it is still a sufficiently grim undertaking
that
it will hopefully never be undertaken lightly.  You are absolutely right
when you
say that war is never nice;  it is hell.  But it can be controlled (that is
what
separates war from a riot), and must be if it is to bring about positive
results,
as it did in our Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI and WWII, to name a few
examples.  My father served in the Army for 23 years, four of them in an ROTC
battalion where he had some recruiting duties.  He once told me of a con-
versation he had with someone who told him he didn't want to join the Army
because he didn't like war.  Dad asked him if he thought those who are at
greatest risk looked forward to the prospect.  Psychologists tell us that the
only people who aren't afraid in war are mentally impaired and unable to make
the connection between the hazards in their environment and risk to
themselves.

Okay, now I'm just rambling, so I'll shut up.  Thanks for your message.

At 08:02 AM 12/18/98 -0600, you wrote:
>Phillip,
>
>That was an excellent response.  As you are well aware and others that have 
>responded to your comments, war is a terrible tragedy that has never been 
>"nice" or "controlled".  If people try to make it "civilized" it will only 
>become easier to condone.  In my time in service I don't recall ever having 
>served with anyone that looked forward to war.
>
>Ray Carroll
>carrollrg@lmus.com
>
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