Jeff Culbreath might not agree with Chief Joseph's statement above, but in the close examination of conscience and with a clear eye as to what was happening to his people, Chief Joseph made this promise. I think he was considering the same things Jeff writes about in two posts.
And the answer to Jeff's question is very simple--unless that little girl was walking into your house, country, public place, with a bomb strapped onto her back and the trigger in her hand, it is never licit. Collateral damage is one of those horrible Minitruth phrases that covers up the hideous reality. When we condone even the use of the term "collateral damage," we are complicit in depriving mothers of their children, fathers of their families, and innocents of their lives. The proper term is "civilian deaths and casualties."
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Granted none of us are good, but surely some of us are good enough to recognize that the slaughter of innocents is not "collateral damage"--it is sheer evil dressed up as necessity. Any person who does not mourn when this happens has become a monster.
