- "Take 'em out..."
- "Oh, dude!"
CNN just showed the video I posted about a few days ago (see Video: US Pilots Kill Civilians).
The pilot, seeing a large crowd pour onto the streets of Falluja, asked if he should "take 'em out." The controller's response was affirmative: "Take 'em out." After the hideousely huge explosion of the 500 lb. bomb (much bigger than you'd think), another voice in the cockpit responded, "Oh, dude!"
The CNN reporter suggested that video had been saved because it was "cool," resembling as it did a video game, except that it was real.
It was impossible for me in my living room in Pohang, South Korea to determine whether the crowd were civilians or not, or whether the pilot, or more likely the controller, were guilty of a war crime or a simple mistake, or whether they had attacked a legitimate target.
What is clear, however, is that, regardless of whether the victims were Falluja insurgents or innocent civilians, one thing is true:
Sanctus Deus, Sanctus Fortis, Sanctus Immortalis, miserere nobis et totius mundi.
* A commenter has correctly pointed out that the Catholic position is more nuanced than this sentence suggests. It must be understood within the context of the surrounding paragraphs, which can be found here: Avoiding War.
[See also Pope Warns Against War and Hawks, Doves, and Pope John Paul II.]
- "Oh, dude!"
CNN just showed the video I posted about a few days ago (see Video: US Pilots Kill Civilians).
The pilot, seeing a large crowd pour onto the streets of Falluja, asked if he should "take 'em out." The controller's response was affirmative: "Take 'em out." After the hideousely huge explosion of the 500 lb. bomb (much bigger than you'd think), another voice in the cockpit responded, "Oh, dude!"
The CNN reporter suggested that video had been saved because it was "cool," resembling as it did a video game, except that it was real.
It was impossible for me in my living room in Pohang, South Korea to determine whether the crowd were civilians or not, or whether the pilot, or more likely the controller, were guilty of a war crime or a simple mistake, or whether they had attacked a legitimate target.
What is clear, however, is that, regardless of whether the victims were Falluja insurgents or innocent civilians, one thing is true:
- "The fifth commandment forbids the intentional destruction of human life*. Because of the evils and injustices that accompany all war, the Church insistently urges everyone to prayer and to action so that the divine Goodness may free us from the ancient bondage of war." (from Paragraph # 2307 of the CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH)
Sanctus Deus, Sanctus Fortis, Sanctus Immortalis, miserere nobis et totius mundi.
* A commenter has correctly pointed out that the Catholic position is more nuanced than this sentence suggests. It must be understood within the context of the surrounding paragraphs, which can be found here: Avoiding War.
[See also Pope Warns Against War and Hawks, Doves, and Pope John Paul II.]
Redeemed by Our Savior, I work out my salvation with fear and trembling in Pohang, South Korea, where I live with my wife, daughter, and son and teach English at a science and technology university. Baptized a Methodist and raised a Missouri Synod Lutheran in Buffalo, NY, I spent six years as a guest of the Anglican Communion before being received by the Grace of God into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church on the Feast of Saint Andrew, my patron, anno domini 2002.
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