From: George Sherwood 

On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 15:06:06 -0500, Monte Davis wrote:

> John Cuccia  wrote:
>
>>The "laws and
>>customs or war" are peacetime constructs which have no influence on
>>wartime conduct.
>
> I can't agree. The professionalization of European war *did* lead to
> less misery for civilians in the 18th and 19th centuries. (The 20th
> told itself it had invented total war, when in fact it had simply gone
> back to the 17th and before.)
>
> The bad rep of gas in WWI -- regardless of whether it was practical,
> or more or less "inhumane" than bullets and shells -- *did* constrain
> its use in WWII.
>
> The bad rep of nuclear weapons *has* constrained their use against
> non-nuclear powers for 60 years.
>
> That constraints like these -- and on a smaller scale, the issues of
> POWs at stake in this thread -- are fragile, incomplete, and liable to
> be discarded in desperation, or by an evil regime, doesn't mean
> they're without value. They get stronger, and gain wider adherence,
> with time.

Nice post Monte.

George

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5