collateral damage and historical memory

[William F. Owen]

Wilf,

I will continue to disagree with your final point because what you say before it is true.

Killing civilians does have political effect and in a counter-inurgency campaign where securing the population is the objective, the use of the term collateral damage is self-defeating. Civilian deaths are not collateral, they are friendly.

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.