The Realities of War

First let me say that I am fortunate enough to have never been in a war zone. So I cannot speak from personal experience as to what happens in a war. But I do know personally veterans of ever military branch who have served in every war since World War II. They have told me their personal experiences from the D-Day invasion of Normandy, to the various offensives in Vietnam, to Desert Shield, to the operations that have gone on since September 11th, 2001. And there is one thing that is true about every one of their stories. No matter how much planning is used, no matter how much preparation is done, no matter how good the minds of the planners of an operation sh** does and will happen.

Battle is the truest form of a life and death situation. And this is an axiom that applies to everyone in and around the battle whether they are combatant participants, non-combatant civilians, or "impartial" observers. Anyone who thinks otherwise is an ignorant buffoon living in a Walt Disney cartoon.

And here is another truth about battle that goes hand and hand with the above axiom. No matter how "smart" the weapon, how good the intelligence, or how good of a marksman wielding a weapon there will always be the chance of unintended damage. Just because a bullet, rocket, missile, or bomb is aimed at a target does not mean necessarily that it will always hit that target. The other side of that coin also says that just because a bullet, rocket, missile, or bomb hits something doesn't mean that it was aimed at that target. Weapons of war, just like any peaceful technology, is subject to the conditions that it is used under. Weather, damage to components, or competence of the user (whether it is poor training, disorientation in a battle zone, or panic from intense combat) all play a factor in the accuracy of a weapon.

Do these truths of war make the death of a child any less tragic or horrible? Never. Do these truths of war make it any easier to accept civilian casualties or the deaths of "impartial" observers? Never. But it is a fact. A fact that anyone who is involved in a war, directly or indirectly, has to understand. And if you cannot get it through your thick skull then you need to go sit back down in front of that TV and watch some more Disney cartoons. Because you obviously are not ready for the real world of war yet.

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Tags: Israel, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Middle East, War, Terrorism, United Nations, Iraq