Quote Originally Posted by overgrowthegovt
Well, really, I have to get this off my chest....war barely belongs in the level of advancement achieved in the 17th century, and certainly has no place in the 21st. It's so sad that we've progressed so much and yet individuals still slaughter each other to serve the economic or political agendas of their leaders. Oh, and of course, it's not cannons and rapiers anymore, but machine guns, gas, roadside bombs, etc. Nice.

Don't get me wrong, I think we should go in if you have a Hitler-type situation happening, if there's a chance the free world might be totally swept away in a wave of manaical tyranny, but really, anyone who tries to pretend Iran is that much of a threat is just misguided....

Anyway, aggression can usually be traced to economic repression, anyway, which is a favourite activity of the West, i.e. in the staggering reparations Germany was forced to pay to France following WWI, or the fact that the fundamentalist revolution only occurred in Iran following the instability that ensued after the West had their elected leader overthrown in 1953 because he nationalized their oil.

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the starving, whether the bombs were dropped in the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty and democracy?"
-Gandhi
I find this to be true to an extent. War is the worst option to solve any problem. However, sometimes its the ONLY option (i.e. WW2). The difference between now and then is that Hitler invaded Poland, then Belgium, then France etc (cant remember the exact order of countries) whereas Iran has done......nothing, yet. I believe conflict must be reactionary, not preemptive, because a preemptive strike is just war sped up, starting a war before it's technically begun. That said, people usually rush into war out of fear; fear is the most powerful tool we have as humans.

"Humans are no strangers to war. After all, we've been fighting for as long as we can remember. War is all we know. In the past, we fought for Immulsion, we fought for country, we fought for freedom. But all that changed after E-Day. For 15 years, we've been fighting for our very survival, against inhuman, genocidal monsters. But it is a fight we cannot continue. Humanity faces extinction, unless we end this war now. We had hoped the Lightmass bombing would decimate the Locust Horde. But they survived, and they have returned stronger than ever. They've brought with them a force that can sink entire cities. Even Jacinto, our last bastion through these dark days, is now at risk. Soon, we'll have nothing left to defend. And that means we have only one option. Attack. Gears, what I ask of you now is not an easy thing, but it is necessary. If we are to survive, if we are to live long enough to see the seasons pass, our children grow, experience a time of peace that we have never known, we must now take this fight to the Locust. We will go to where they live and where they breed and we will destroy them. This is the day we take the battle to the heart of the enemy. This is the day we correct the course of human history. This is the day we ensure our survival as a species. Soldiers of the COG, my fellow Gears, go forth, and bring back the hope of humanity!"

-Chairman Prescott, leader of the COG, Gears of War 2.

THAT is what we would be justified in doing as humans.