tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post5465927404511475956..comments2024-03-27T20:37:08.065+01:00Comments on Defence and Freedom: We do it wrongUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-31534281498398902802009-04-09T01:20:00.000+02:002009-04-09T01:20:00.000+02:00In a democratic society there is seldom much ratio...In a democratic society there is seldom much rationality when it comes to war. "They" are the "enemy" and must be destroyed at all costs or we lose. Even something as simple as a cost-benefit analysis is usually too complicated for the electorate(or at least politicians seem to think so). For example, in the run up to the Iraq war there was never even a suggestion that we might ever concede to Saddam having any WMD capability, no matter how costly a war to ensure that he didn't have them might be. There was seldom discussion of the cost of the war. Even today, people bemoan the high cost of the war, but they seldom talk about the value of what we have achieved so far and the value of our objectives. The political discussions boil down to black-and-white statements of morality that have little to do with the political, economic, and human consequences of the war in the real world. When military decisions are made on the basis of popular politics, the results are seldom optimal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com