Bowser believes that there's nothing wrong with simply submitting to the butchers, but then he's a nihilist, and I expected that.
McFly may have missed the point. An unwillingness to risk civilian casualties is laudable, but could someday mean our destruction by people who think civilian deaths mean nothing. This is not something people want to hear, even me, but reality often has little to do with what people wish was true.
Alacaray just wishes there were no barbarians. The idea that they would fade if we didn't oppose or fear them is equally unrealistic.
As for "tell me a fable," we killed millions of civilians during WWII in the process of winning it, including two atomic attacks. Our fathers and grandfathers got over it. Any modern president who did any of those things would probably be impeached.
In much the same way as the word "torture" now encompasses anything that causes discomfort to a prisoner, the concept of "war crime" now encompasses all forms of violence to an enemy or an enemy's country. It is becoming impossible for a Western nation to wage even a defensive war.
I believe we could not win WWII with today's society. Think about that for a while.
Liberalism is a philosophy of consolation for Western Civilization as it commits suicide.
--Jerry Pournelle