An intrinsic effect of war is that all wars involve "collateral damage." Collateral damage is a term that has been commandeered to sanitize the fact that war always affects unintended victims. "Collateral damage is damage to things that are incidental to the intended target. It is frequently used as a military term where it can refer to the incidental destruction of civilian property and non-combatant casualties." When used in the military sense, it is used to reference persons or property in the war zone. As an Army veteran, I see collateral damage as a much broader term. Part of the collateral damage done by war includes the effect that military "service" has on the loved ones of those who serve. Warriors who are killed or injured as a result of their service have an obvious impact on their loved ones. But I also believe that the absence of those who are away at war also impacts their loved ones. There is no such thing as "a surgical military strike." Any combat action involves collateral damage. I believe the collateral damage always exceeds the "intended damage." I am opposed to war for any "reason."
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 01:09:21 +0000
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