From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@datamann.com)
Date: Wed Oct 03 2001 - 16:48:28 MDT
> "Smigrodzki, Rafal" wrote:
>
> Brian Williams wrote:
>
> Murdering innocent civilians is a definition of cowardly (and
> criminal) in any soldiers book, and should be in anyones book.
>
> ### Just for the sake of philosophical hair-splitting - murdering
> innocent civilians is definitely evil, but not necessarily cowardly,
> and in some legal systems is not even criminal. If you attack with
> your bare hands, knowing you will die, it's maybe deranged but not
> cowardly, even if you attack civilians rather than soldiers.
Incorrect. Any nation which has signed the Geneva Conventions is
required to treat the specific targeting and murder of civilians for
political/military purposes as criminal acts.
>
> Cowardly is the one who doesn't have the strength to stand for his
> beliefs, or who would slink away rather than face the consequences of
> his choices, or who would rather send others to do the dangerous work
> but is always ready to benefit from their sacrifice.
>
> The 9/11 fanatics and some of their still living buddies are,
> unfortunately, not cowards.
I would call rigging your atrocity such that you do not survive to face
trial for your actions as 'slinking away rather than face the
consequences'. Thus suicide bombing is by definition cowardly.
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