On September 12, 2001 07:14 am, Joel Hammer wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 12, 2001 at 12:24:57AM -0400, dep wrote:
> > charles krauthammer, mideast expert, is a quadraplegic who
> > nevertheless is one of the most astute commentators. i recommend his
> > column of today:
> >
> > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14320-2001Sep11.html
> > --
>
> I read the article. I agree except with his assertion we didn't seek war
> with Nazi Germany or Japan. We DID seek war with both those nations. FDR
> ran illegal wars against both those countries prior to Pearl Harbor. Now we
> gaily recall the hero days of the Flying Tigers, but that was a war crime
> by any standards (Shooting down Japanese planes in China with American
> pilots sponsored by the US govt without a declaration of war) and we
> attacked German submarines in the Atlantic long before we were at war with
> Germany. This is not hyperbole. This is the public record. At Nurenberg,
> such actions were punished with death.
Careful Joel, there's moe than a little hyperbole mixed in there.
Participating in military actions against other military forces is not a war
crime (although traditionally it has been considered an de facto act of war).
In fact, "Declaring War," officially, has gone out of style along with swords
and the slapping of faces with gloves. Certainly, the US has not declared war
on another nation since WWII. In fact, I can't think of many instances since
WWII where any major country has declared war on another, despite widespread
hostilities by military forces... perhaps in one of the Arab-Israeli wars.
All the rest, including Vietnam, have been technically "conflicts."
--
burns
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