Lawrence wrote:
> From the point of view of the person or organisation which sees itself at
> war with USA, and clearly somebody did, the Pentagon would be a legitimate
> target in terms which would be identical to USA govt's approach in making
> war
>
> & I recall Bush saying he will not distinguish between those who murder and
> those who provide their infrastructure - which would cover the Pentagon from
> the point of view of an enemy
>
> That's rules of engagement and targeting rather than morality
Lawrence: You've been making some excellent points in your series of
posts, I think, and I very much appreciate your insistence on the need for
attention to language--rhetoric, political or otherwise, and the rhetorical
moves made here on this list, in Washington, and elsewhere--as very much at
issue in discussions of/debates over our actions, personal or political.
What struck me about your words here is their chiming with a pair of
passages from the Koran--which I'm reading (in translation, of course) for
the first time (if anyone else is seeking an online translation, here's a
link to one site: http://www.islam.tc/quran/)--
008.025 And guard yourselves against a chastisement which cannot fall
exclusively on those of you who are wrong-doers, and know that Allah is
severe in punishment.
008.057 If thou comest on them in the war, deal with them so as to strike
fear in those who are behind them, that haply they may remember.
I offer these words in no spirit of acrimony or provocation, nor as a
challenge to Lawrence or anyone else, but simply because they chilled me and
made me weep.
Candice
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