In WWI, civilian casualties accounted for about 10% of the total. By the time we got around to invading Iraq almost 100 years later, that number had climbed to 90%.
It's pretty simple really. First, it's a transaction - there's lotsa people, so we can spend them - the cost of war.
Second, in spite of our efforts to impose "Rules Of War", WWII made it very clear that nothing much had actually changed at all.
Counter Force = kill their soldiers; destroy their weapons and equipment
Counter Value = destroy roads and bridges and factories and farms
Counter Collateral = kill their people - the ones who become the soldiers, build the roads and grow the food.
Whoever loses the least gets to call themselves the winners, and put the other guys on trial for "war crimes".
All of that gets real clear about 42 minutes into this film:
It's pretty simple really. First, it's a transaction - there's lotsa people, so we can spend them - the cost of war.
Second, in spite of our efforts to impose "Rules Of War", WWII made it very clear that nothing much had actually changed at all.
Counter Force = kill their soldiers; destroy their weapons and equipment
Counter Value = destroy roads and bridges and factories and farms
Counter Collateral = kill their people - the ones who become the soldiers, build the roads and grow the food.
Whoever loses the least gets to call themselves the winners, and put the other guys on trial for "war crimes".
All of that gets real clear about 42 minutes into this film:
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