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Article: `Among the Dead Cities': WWII `area bombing' comes under philosophical attack.
- Article from:
- The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA)
- Article date:
- May 17, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The Philadelphia Inquirer. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Carlin Romano
``Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan'' by A.C. Grayling; Walker ($25.95)
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The moral dilemmas of war and how it should be fought probably date from the first Neanderthal tempted to drop a boulder on his enemy's head or set fire to his enemy's cave and family.
In the millennia since, one fundamental philosophical clash has been between the notion that, as the Romans put it, "inter arma silent leges'' _ "in time of war, the laws are silent," so anything goes _ and the persistent belief that, even in war, acting ethically equals being ...