Heidegger

In a message dated 6/6/2007 12:04:14 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
artefact at t-online.de writes:

ME: Asymmetric combatants present a genuine problem, especially when they
descend even to despicable suicide murders on civilians — which is beyond the
pale of anything even faintly resembling civilization and
has made the Geneva Convention in broad measure obsolete (Bernard’s
“planed (sic) obsolescence”).
Dear Michael;
The Geneva Convention is merely a paper ticket to conduct “legal” mass
“collateral” (civilian) slaughter. Why are civilian populations such a
delicious target
for generals conducting a military operation, e.g., 1934, Italian forces,
under Gen. Badaglio in Ethiopia using mustard gas on civilians; “Guernica”
destroyed by Fascist aircraft during the Spanish [un]-Civil War: Bombing of London
and Coventry by the Luftwafe: punitive bombing of German cities by Anglo
American airforces: US anhilation of Hiroshima and Nagaski in first deployment of
“The Bomb.” Again, beyond the paper rules of the Geneva Convention civilian
populations were very much considered de facto military targets. In my own case,
“The Bomb” probably saved my life, along with an expected one million US
casualties and many millions of Japanese, since I was being trained for the US
invasion of Japan. But a year later I was absolutely appalled to see the utter
destruction of large sections of civilian targets by US Army Airforce pinpoint
bombing that left the docking facilities of Bremen totally uintouched and
intact. I was equally shocked when German civilians in Bremerhaven told me of the
fire bombing of nearby Cuxhaven where large populations were suffocated
before they were roasted by the created fire-storm. On the other hand, the
American B-17 bomber crews suffered enormoous casualties and as if they were on
suicide missions.I would have been on a suicide mission if the invasion of Japan
were carried out. But at the time I did not understand this, espescially from
the point of view of a bomber pilot. Later, while in charge of my ship’s mess
and transporting 2000 German POW’s back to Germany I had a volunteer POW
assisting me in my messroom. His father [had] owned a restaurant in Dresden and he
knew very well how to wash dishes. Werner was a short, hawk-nosed fellow and a
former Stuka dive bomber pilot. Working together we became good friends until
one night in the crew mess where the off watch crew were on a coffee break, he
gleefully told me what fun it was to machine gun London civilians running down
the street as he swooped in low after dropping his bombs. I suddenly went
berserk, grabbed Werner by the neck and started choking him, screaming “you
f__king Nazi bastard.” My shipmates leaped up and tore us apart and Werner stood
there white in the face and in shock. As I came to I began to cry, put my arms
around Werner and who was also crying. My shipmates stood around, shook their
heads and then returned to their coffe. All returned to normal and as if we
all, including my German prisoner and myself, understood we were all victims of
the Geneva Convention. And so, what else, 9/11 notwithstanding, is new in
today’s slaughter of self and others in or out of uniform?
Sincerely;
Bernard >

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Posted on Wednesday, June 6th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
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