[kyruzic]

Dropping bombs on innocent civilians in a third world country doesn't make you a hero either, but that doesn't stop our media from calling all members of the military involved in the wars in the middle East heroes.

Also read more carefully they never said the "terrorists" were heroes they explained the point of view of the "terrorists"

[beebmam]

> Dropping bombs on innocent civilians in a third world country

Is this really what political analysis has stooped to on HN in 2023? A total abdication of any attempt at nuance, or framing, or examining underlying intentions.

Such a shame.

[topato]

I'm starting to think there needs to be a "born post 9/11' disclaimer, as I believe living through that period, while remaining acutely aware of what happened in the Middle East during that period, is where the nuance originates

[Bamafan]

What nuance needs to be added to blowing up hospitals?

[talldatethrow]

Dropping a bomb technically doesn't make you a hero, and that's why Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump are not considered heros.

Signing up at 18 years old to go fight in a foreign country after just a couple hundred hours of training, does make you a hero compared to those that sit at home their whole lives and do nothing to help maintain society. If heros that go into the military didn't exist, I'd be speaking German or would have never come into existence because my relatives would be dead.

[andrewinardeer]

I disagree that voluntarily signing up for active military service automatically creates a hero. Even when "compared to those that sit at home their whole lives and do nothing to help maintain society".

Signing up for military service can be described as "heroic" or "honourable" at best.

[ImPostingOnHN]

Claiming that everyone who didn't sign up to kill people thousands of miles away from their society, were just "sitting at home their whole lives doing nothing to help maintain society", seems a bit dismissive.

To avoid a flame war, I won't explicitly say they do more for society than iraq war volunteers, but teachers and doctors do plenty for society, for example.

[enterprise_cog]

Signing up to fight wars of imperialism to benefit the few does not make you a hero. Killing civilians doesn’t make you a hero.

However, you are right that without the brave soldiers of the USSR you might be speaking German. Or not, it’s pointless conjecture.

[kiba]

You do realize that war is ugly? It doesn't matter how justified a war is or isn't. Dropping bombs on an enemy are going to involves the risk of hitting civilians, especially if they are in a war zone, especially if insurgents or partisans are hiding among non-combatant.

If they don't die due to bombs being dropped, they are going to die due to stray bullets.

The only way to prevent that is not to go to war in the first place. However, sometime war is your only choice.

[jameslk]

Same arguments can be made about terrorism. I'd argue that war was not the only choice in many instances it was used, just like terrorism wasn't the only choice. That may not be a popular opinion for either side.

War is reactionary and somehow hasn't stopped terrorism despite its blunt usage. And terrorism hasn't stopped bombs from falling yet either.