Too Powerful a War Machine

Senator Rockefeller was quoted recently as saying that John McCain was not in touch with the concerns of average people, and used as an example the fact that as a Navy pilot, McCain had dropped missiles without knowing who or what they hit. It is reported that Rockefeller later called McCain personally and apologized for these remarks.

It seems unfair to single out McCain or any other American service person for these events, which have happened in many wars fought by Americans. If McCain is guilty of something here, then there are thousands of others who are guilty as well, including those at the top who have authorized such tactics and paid for them with public funds.

But, this somewhat indiscriminate bombing troubles me greatly. The position that we are in, and have been in since at least WWII, is that we have the capability to bomb others and cause great death and destruction from a distance, with relatively little loss of life on our side.

This situation has been greatly heightened recently, starting at least with Vietnam, where our technological superiority, compared to the groups we are fighting, is vast. So that now, we can "call in" air strikes against real or supposed centers of enemy concentration, with very little risk to the American pilots who are flying the missions. The risk ratio is greatly in our favor; the usual result is significant loss of life to our enemies, and little or no loss of life to Americans. This kind of power is morally risky. The ultimate single example is Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Similarly, our invasion of Iraq, publicized as "shock and awe", was extremely lop-sided with respect to the power and capability of our forces versus the Iraq forces.

I wish no disrespect for Senator McCain and all the others who have fought America's wars, and the real risks and losses that they underwent, for causes which I think they generally believed in. But with a military budget which exceeds all the rest of the world's nations put together, I believe America has too much military power, and has succumbed to often to the temptations to use it, when other less violent avenues would have led to better outcomes, for all concerned.