Random Bumper Sticker...

I know that making fun of bumper stickers is mostly a little too easy, but I can't resist doing it at least once. I should note that this is not the first time I have seen this sticker, it is just that it stimulated the following chain of thought.

WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER!

First thought: This is probably a left-over from the run-up to the Iraq war, or possibly Afghanistan or maybe even the prospect of one with Iran.

Second thought: If war is not the answer, then this implies that there is a question out there which has an answer, but that answer is something other than war. What if the question is, what do we call an armed conflict between two nation states? War may not be the only correct answer, but it is certainly a member of the correct answer set.

Third thought: In any situation, one could rule-out one course of action without suggesting any alternatives and end up being able to defend any outcome.

Let us use the Iran scenario: If we do not go to war then whatever does happen can be explained-away as: "Well, war would have resulted in an even worse disaster, or the non-war option taken was not the correct non-war option. That is to say, "The crater located where Tel Aviv once was could have been averted in some other way than by warfare." The answer is even more simple if we do go to war: "It could have been solved peacefully". I am always suspicious of folks who play such games.

The fact of the matter is that any country which spends money on having a military must implicitly believe that war is indeed the answer, sometimes.

dbp