>The Devil's Advocate argues that the military should be able to do ANYTHING short of civilian atrocities to fight al-Qaeda.< What does _should be able to_ mean here? Clearly it means should be justified in doing; should have license to do; should not be blamed for or ashamed of doing anything at all--short of committing 'atrocities' on civilians. I'll pass over the obvious point that the author would seem to be wedded to the view that there really is no distinction in this 'asymmetrical' war between 'civilians' and insurgents or terrorists, so that the conscience-easing qualification is either a slip of the fingers or disingenuous, and ask why The Devil's Advocate should stop here? Is there some line, visible to TDA and the author, but not to some of the rest of us, such that committing atrocities against civilians is 'unjustified,' but doing anything whatsoever (gouging out eyes, impaling on the stake, roasting over a spit) to persons who, before they were caught up in a 'sweep' may have been innocent bystanders, as many of the Iraqi prisoners in captivity have turned out to be, is 'justified'? If this is really what the author means, then there should be no reason--except aesthetic, perhaps--for not videotaping 'enemy' prisoners having their genitals mutilated or their tongues cut out, and showing these images on television (tastefully edited for Nickelodeon until children get used to it). After all, it is justified--something 'we' should be able to do--so where's the harm in it? If this really is what TDA is advocating, then TDA shouldn't object either to Nick Berg's beheading or to the taping of it or to the dissemination of that tape. After all, 'we' are now 'them,' and 'they' are now 'us.' And what are we then fighting to preserve? Two gross of broken statues...a few thousand battered books? A pleasant Sunday afternoon here. Robert Paul Reed College ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html