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Article: Collateral damage.(Opinion & Editorial)
- Article from:
- Manila Bulletin
- Article date:
- April 24, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp. 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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COLLATERAL damage has become a convenient label for people caught in the crossfire between warring factions. The phrase also applies to innocent bystanders slaughtered by fanatical suicide bombers, victims exterminated by CIA agents and spies, the countless dead who perished in the war in Afghanistan as well as in other ethnic, religious, economic, and ideological conflicts.
Supposedly, collateral damage is an injury or harm that is not intended. When snipers shoot at their enemies, the killing of defenseless civilians is presumed a mistake. Their death is not deliberate but the unwanted consequence of a noble purpose: To protect oneself, abolish terrorism, save ...