January 28, 2002
Raymond A. Schroth referenced Marc Herold’s much-discussed and debunked 4,000 Afghan civilian casualties figure in yesterday’s Newark Star-Ledger (not available online), in a piece entitled "Is the U.S. losing the moral high ground?" Herold’s estimates are described as "the best available estimates," ignoring other reports, such as that of Human Rights Watch and Reuters, which put the figure at closer to 1,000.
The article uses Herold’s figures to bolster the argument that U.S. actions have led to a sacrifice of national honor, as summarized in a quote from former Army Major and current Susquehanna University associate philosophy professor Jeffrey Whitman: [It doesn’t serve U.S. interest] "to commit a whole bunch of casualties against civilian targets. Because then the terrorists can turn and point to us and say, see, you are no better than us. And that’s what this fight is all about. It’s about, actually, attaining the moral high ground." I've heard a number of different reasons and rationales, but this is the first time I've heard anybody suggest that our goal should be some vague concept of moral superiority.
The article uses Herold’s figures to bolster the argument that U.S. actions have led to a sacrifice of national honor, as summarized in a quote from former Army Major and current Susquehanna University associate philosophy professor Jeffrey Whitman: [It doesn’t serve U.S. interest] "to commit a whole bunch of casualties against civilian targets. Because then the terrorists can turn and point to us and say, see, you are no better than us. And that’s what this fight is all about. It’s about, actually, attaining the moral high ground." I've heard a number of different reasons and rationales, but this is the first time I've heard anybody suggest that our goal should be some vague concept of moral superiority.
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