Shutting the Gates of Mercy:
The American Origins of Total War
In his thesis, Shutting the Gates of Mercy: The American Origins of Total War, 1860-1880, Lance Janda asserts that the tactics used in the Civil War are the origins of the concept of total war for America. The definition of total war he chooses for his thesis lends itself especially well to his argument. Since the terminology was not used during the time of the Civil War, Janda may interpret its meaning with 20/20 hindsight and this may be his most glaring bias.
He supports his claim with numerous examples taken from the memoirs and letters of the Union Leaders he feels most responsible for the shift from Napoleonic and American...
Also, some may argue that punishing those who simply took orders is immoral in that they had no choice. Furthermore, these tribunals and their hanging of common soldiers does not do much to deter war crimes. According to McMorran, many believe it is unlikely that men and women like Hitler and Stalin would have been deterred by the prospect of a war crimes tribunal. These men did what they did
Gaza War began in 2008 as a three-week long invasion of the Gaza Strip in Palestinian territories after rocket attacks allegedly hit southern Israel. The conflict did not begin at this point, however, as both sides had obviously prepared their actions for months, perhaps years in advance. The stated aim of Israel upon commencing the war was to end the rocket attacks into south Israel, but due to the relative
These women, called "comfort women," were conscripted as prostitutes to serve the Japanese military leaders. The book is unsettling to read, and some parts are so difficult it is hard not to pass over them. Tanaka achieves his purpose quite well throughout the book. He talks about many unsettling topics, such as the rape and massacre of the Australian nurses, but the ultimate cruelty may be the chapter on cannibalization.
War on Terror & Human Rights The so-called "war on terror" -- initiated by former president George W. Bush after 9/11 -- has not succeeded in ending terrorism but it opened the door to numerous violations of human rights. A survey of verifiable, peer-reviewed sources in the literature show clearly that the Bush Administration and members of the military under Bush's command carried out human rights violations in the name of
According to a report in the New York Times, the level of piracy in Somalia's treacherous waters has fallen sharply in the year 2012. This is according to statistics that were released by the U.S. Navy. This fall is credited by the U.S. Navy to the aggressive patrolling by various international forces as well as increased vigilance by the commercial maritime operators (Shanker). In my opinion, I do believe that ransom
Iraq War- Why America Should Have Never Gone to War With human rights violation reaching its peak in Iraq and with pictures of Iraqi prisoners proving that U.S. soldiers are committing worst possible war crimes, every American is facing a dilemma: should we support the government or should we not. Everyone is asking the same question, what is America's point for continuing war in Iraq? Does America need to be in
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