"Each of us is unique; not one of us can be replaced. Each of us has a family, loved ones, friends and a life that is a web of caring, interdependence, and joy. When even one of us is killed or horribly injured for no justifiable reason, the damage affects countless people in addition to the primary victim. Sometimes, the survivors are irreparably damaged as well. Even the survivors' wounds can last a lifetime.
This is of the greatest significance. There is nothing more important or meaningful in the world. No moral principle legitimizes our invasion and occupation of Iraq, just as it will not justify an attack on Iran. Therefore, when the first person was killed in Iraq as the result of our actions, the immorality was complete. The crime had been committed, and no amends could ever suffice or would even be possible. That many additional tens or hundreds of thousands of people have subsequently been killed or injured does not add to the original immorality with regard to first principles. It increases its scope, which is an additional and terrible horror -- but the principle is not altered in the smallest degree".
-- Arthur Silber; Of Fundamental Moral Principles, and the Value of a Single Human Life.
Photo: A man weeps as he holds the body of his son, wrapped in a blanket, at a hospital in Baquba October 6, 2006. The boy was killed in crossfire during a gun battle between insurgents and soldiers, witnesses in the area said. (AFP/Ali Yussef)
Related Link: It's time to say sorry for Iraq's agony; The Observer, 15 Oct 2006.
