[lookout123]

ok - with a little less irritability on my side i'd like to clear up a few things.

Dana - i was not referring to Britain's former empire status at all. i was referring to your obvious condescension to your american brothers and sisters. when i worked at the the British embassy in Riyadh, KSA - we were REGULARLY referred to as "the colonies" in a condescending manner. i unfairly assumed your condescending slams against my educational background were coming from the same misguided, arrogant world view.

and to Dana and godwulf: when i said "we" i meant America/UK/various allies. Godwulf, in your 21 years in the navy i think you saw that the American/allied forces typically do follow the accepted rules of war. that is not to say that there have not been times where the rules were tossed to accomplish the goals. and no i wasn't saying that ALL other militaries in the world are out looking for the worst atrocities to commit just to start their day. but a brief overview of the 20th century would show that the US/allies did adhere more closely to the geneva convention.
unfortunately this is not a black/white hat world. like in vietnam we are now fighting an enemy that will strike at ANY target, then slink back into their society at large. i believe this type of warfare calls for a new look at the convention and generally accepted rules of engagement.

dana - as far as your hiroshima - the end goal may not have been just to end the war - possibly the bomb was used (very effectively) as a demonstration of what happens when you screw around with the wrong people/nations. now if you want to get into psych/soc issues of why we nuked japan and not germany - i'll be the first to tell you: it was a racially motivated decision. the germans looked and in peacetime lived like americans, the japanese, on the other hand, looked, sounded, lived differently so it was as difficult to justify.
looking back - i still believe it was the right decision, the japanese may have been sending up quiet signals that they are ready to talk, but at the time the leadership understood that you don't negotiate with the opponent while they still believe they are in a position of strength.
america has never been and will never be "loved" by the world. a healthy dose of fear of the consequences of messing with the US will have to do.