Are Wisdom and War Ever Companions?

"In Germany the strategic bombing, that of industry, transportation and cities, was gravely disappointing. The war was not shortened.
. . . .
In the cities, the random cruelty and death inflicted from the sky had no appreciable effect on war production or the war."
--John Kenneth Galbraith
Galbraith has earned the right to be heard, as confirmed by Wikepedia:
His books on economic topics were bestsellers in the 1950s and 1960s.
Galbraith was a prolific author who produced four dozen books and over a thousand articles on various subjects. Among his most famous works was a popular trilogy on economics, American Capitalism (1952), The Affluent Society (1958), and The New Industrial State (1967). He taught at Harvard University for many years. Galbraith was active in politics, serving in the administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson; and among other roles served as U.S. ambassador to India under Kennedy.
He was one of a few two-time recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He received one from President Truman in 1946 and another from President Bill Clinton in 2000. He was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, for his contributions to strengthening ties between India and the United States.

Once People Are Dead

"Certain blood was being shed for certain reasons.
. . . .
It was my view then, and still is, that you don't make a war without knowing why.
. . . .
You can't fix your mistakes. Once people are dead, you can't make them undead."
--Tim O'Brien
U.S. veteran of Vietnam, writer

President Shrub, do you really know why you made this stupid war? Wasn’t it a British Prime Minister who said something like, "I don't intend to preside over the collapse of the British Empire," yet wound up doing just that? This man, who should never even have been allowed on the ticket of a presidential primary, are we going to allow to him to be the one who preside over the collapse of this nation? If not preside, at least push us to the tipping point? Are we going to stand by and countenance this loss, these losses?

How many dead--U.S., Iraqi, British, and all the others--have died and will continue to die as you continue to pit them more and more against each other? My grandson, John, will be sent to Bagdad in February, to serve your vile non-purpose. Whether it is my grandson, granddaughter, or your nephew or cousin, or family friend, or some Iraqi mother’s child, once they are dead, Shrub Bush, you can't make them undead.


[I am indebted to Mollie Ivins for the epithet, “Shrub”]