Is war best judged by the consequences therafter, the level of victory obtained, or the inhumanity of it?

Answer 1

Consequences..always consequences. Judging a war by any other means is infantile in it's conception. Example: Viet Nam was no worse or better than any other war. The consequences of the U.S. policy on how to fight it prolonged the war much longer than was necessary. The inglorious pull out of troops by the U.S. caused a victory by the Communist forces. The consequences of this victory by the Communists was that the U.S. was considered weak by other enemies, and more tragic, allowed a terrible government to expand it's influence, unchecked, into the South and into Laos and Cambodia as well. Laos became a puppet state to the Vietnamese, and Cambodia was turned into a killing field by Communists that were backed throughout the war by the Communist North. Some 200,000 former South Vietnamese were killed by the Communists, and some 2,000,000 actually left Vietnam by any means they could. Vietnam, North and South, were relatively rich countries, even during the war. After the war ended, the economy of the now re-united Vietnam was devastated and Vietnam became one of the poorest countries on earth. Always consequences...

Answer 2

I think this depends on the person doing the judging.
Some people in the south that I know still feel like the "losers" of the Civil War, and feel that that war should be judged harshly. It was inhumanly aweful, I think we'd all admit. I live in the North, and feel that the consequences justified the war.

If we could win a "war on poverty", I think we'd all be judging by the level of victory obtained as well as the consequences thereafter.

I would hope that SOME of each of these factors would be used to judge any war.

Answer 3

Good question. Historically, I would think it's the level of victory. Battles throughout history have resulted in the victor amassing more lands and ruling a larger populace. Yes, war has terrible consequences and is truly inhuman, but history records the results -- basically, who won. Entire cultures and languages were lost because of war.

Answer 4

Its consequences, and what the consequences would be of not going to war--like weighing the pros and cons. Will the consequences of the war be worse than the cause of the war itself?

Answer 5

All of the above. Everyone judges a war on a different basis. For me, I quote Sting: "There's no such thing as a winnable war. It's a lie we don't believe anymore"

Answer 6

History is written by the Victorious.

Answer 7

No winners in war.. everyone loses...

Answer 8

is this really necessary tonight?