The Essential Questions

James Wilson, my favorite Libertarian blogger, has an excellent article posted at the Partial Observer this week.

In True Believers, he asks the supporters of "endless war" twenty-five questions that would almost certainly expose the moral and philosophical bankruptcy of the War Party - if any of them were courageous enough to answer the questions honestly.

Here's a sampling:

• 1. You suggest that many critics of Israel, and of U.S. aid to Israel are anti-Semites. But which is more prevalent, anti-Semitism in the anti-war crowd, or anti-French and anti-Arab bigotry in the pro-war crowd?



• 3. How is bombing non-combatants from above via the Air Force not its own form of "terrorism?" Why do uniforms and greater fire power make one side morally superior?



• 4. Why are non-combatant victims of American or Israeli bombs at least partly to blame for the policies of their government, but American and Israeli civilians are always innocent?



• 5. You claim that extremist Muslims hate us for our freedoms, and want to impose Muslim law on us. Do you not hate Muslim cultures just as much? Aren't you just as determined to overthrow their societies to impose your own values on them? Even if not, wouldn't Muslims have a right to perceive this to be true? How do you know that terrorism is a form of aggression, instead of resistance?



• 7. If we are morally justified in "preemptive war" to destroy countries that may threaten our interests several years from now, wouldn't those countries be militarily justified in launching preemptive attacks on us?



• 10. If the United States suffered under persistent bombing and occupation by foreign troops, would you rule out terrorism against the occupiers? Against the aggressor nation's homeland?



• 20. If your family was massacred by foreign soldiers, or killed by bombs from above, would your reaction be, "Ah, collateral damage. What can you do? No hard feelings."

Go here to read the rest.