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Possibly, in a conflict where the US isn't particularly threatened. The last time the US felt in real danger it flattened German and Japanese cities, and droppe
by nitwit005 7y ago
Possibly, in a conflict where the US isn't particularly threatened. The last time the US felt in real danger it flattened German and Japanese cities, and dropped two nukes.
I don't feel we've become profoundly nicer since then.
- umvi 7y agoWe used the weapons we had at the time to stop a World War. We've definitely become profoundly nicer since then. When was the last time we flattened a city or dropped a nuke? We've since developed PGMs which allow us to minimize collateral damage more than ever before. We can destroy strategic targets of military interest with pinpoint accuracy. People that commit war crimes are reported by their fellow soldiers and justice is (usually) served. Sometimes war criminals are pardoned even after being turned in (like Gallagher), but this is rare and usually results in national outrage.
- nitwit005 7y agoThe US hasn't done so, because it hasn't felt the need (although it got close with Russia several times). Committing war crimes has effectively been the national defense policy of last resort since WW2. That's what the nukes (and formerly chemical and biological weapons) are for. The implicit threat is that the US will massacre your civilian population. And I don't mean that as any special criticism of the US. Most countries have a similar attitude of the rules of war going out the window when things get bad enough.