Just Another Day of Infamy

Under the category of "attacks from the air upon military targets in nations that no state of war exists with", the United States holds the record.  A glance at the recent records shows that if not quite every day, we sure give it the good old college try.

Since 2004, and just in Pakistan, a nation we are not at war with, 2,499 to 4,001 militants and 425 to 966 civilians have been killed by U.S. drone bombing.

Just since 2015, and in Afghanistan, another nation we are not at war with, 2,319 to 3,042 militants and 124 to 121 civilians killed.

These are not the only nations that we are not at war with, but nonetheless routinely bombing both "militants" - roughly described as "any male above 12" - and civilians, including first responders and children.

Plenty of other nations, and for plenty of more years, and with plenty of more deaths have been the focus of our "drone bombing".  And who can count as high as the tally from all those who died in our bombing runs in general, from Korea to Vietnam, from Laos to Thailand, and on up?  "Death from Above", a great tattoo, but the cold reality for anyone living in the third world from the 1950s on up.

But December 7, 1941 is a "date which will live in infamy".  You know, because Japan, a nation we were criminally blockading (and ask how we'd react if we were blockaded) bombed our fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor, in a territory that we had stole from the native peoples.

The death count was 2,403, and all American sources I found list them as "non-combatants".  You know, because while they were in the military we weren't technically at war with Japan, just stopping their oil supply.

Ponder that.  If you aren't American, you need only be 12 and a male to be a "militant" and worthy of death.  But if you are American, then being an adult on a warship in full military uniform and tasked with occupying a conquered territory and waging undeclared war on a friendly nation makes you a "non-combatant".

Japan, for attacking us "by surprise" and not "declaring war first" made them so evil that it was supposedly morally justified to use atom bombs on two of their cities killing hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Nice celebration cake.  This won't ever backfire on us.

We, for attacking half a dozen nations "by surprise" and not "declaring war first" makes it....just another day.  And God only knows what over-the-top reaction we'd have if Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq or any other such decided to use atomic bombs to take out Pittsburgh and Miami.  Because, gee, after all, you know what the estimated troop losses those nations would suffer by invading us are?  Heck, they'd have no choice but to drop the big ones, right?  Right?

Japan, so all of you memorializing December 7th, 1941 will know, only took over nations that were under the dominion of European powers.  They were, so they claimed, "liberating" them from the European powers, which at that time, controlled most all the Southeast Asian nations and to some extent, even China.

Even Hawaii could be said - and was said - to be occupied by the United States.  The people there in the Kingdom of Hawaii never having agreed to be took over.

Now, I'd be the first to admit that the Japanese government was full of crap.  True, the places they invaded and took over had been groaning under oppressive rule, but the Japanese were not liberating them so much as "taking over the exploiting" of them.  And often times, in a crueler fashion.

But for those of you who don't delve into history so much, please know that not every nation was sad to see the Japanese kick the Europeans out, though they were also later glad to have the U.S. kick the Japanese out.  Then sad again when the U.S. and French and English tried to stay and exploit again, and happy when the Russians and Chinese kicked some out.

I guess no one likes being conquered, no matter the motives.  Even when it's called "liberation".

And just as no one in Southeast Asia enjoyed being "liberated" by any power, so do the Middle Easterners similarly fail to enjoy being "liberated" by us.  Especially when "liberation" - like when Japan did it 75 years ago - just means "give your resources to a new power, and let that power kill you indiscriminately and have say over who leads you and what your laws are".

We can't say that Japan was wrong 75 years ago unless we damn ourselves as wrong today.  And we can't say we are right today, without admitting Japan was right back then.  If bombing without warning when a nation harms you is a thing, then Japan did then only what we do now.

And heaven help us the day one of these nations does get some nukes and a delivery system to carry it here.  I, like everyone else, will surely be incredibly sad...at the consequences of our nation's own actions.