Quote Originally Posted by William F. Owen View Post
You make a good point Tom, which is why the qualifier Military Necessity is extremely important. The art of command must include balancing risk versus reward, and thus judgements about the necessity of certain actions.
I take that attitude myself.

I'm not a soldier, but I have observed that defending forces, especially ones that defend a system that is unjust, will make no effort to give battle away from centres of population, if not deliberately placing assets among non-combatants, in order to alienate these non-combatants from those who are trying to liberate them.

It's what I would do if I were in charge of the propaganda machine. Regrettably, it seems to come down to which side is best at saying and demonstrating 'It sucks now, but if the other side wins it will be worse. So if you're willing to work with us, the sooner we can all go back to a safe and lawful community.'

I have no wish to be impolite, and I will try to say this in such a way as to accurately reflect my thoughts, but being trained and disciplined by the military doesn't necessarily make someone a good person or guarantee lawful/good behaviour. However, I do believe that it is a good way to inculcate those values in most individuals.