A philosophical question for you. I will hold my answer back for now.

If a state has a constant policy of conscription, does that make every citizen a legitimate target for an enemy army ? Discuss.

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Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"

I do not think so, just because a state has such a policy does not mean every citizen will comply with it.

No. Only those actually serving in the armed forces are legitimate targets. As an example, children may be subject to future conscription but they are not legitimate targets.

Why ? They are the soldiers of tomorrow ?

What is it that makes them not legitimate targets.

*note i actually agree with you, i am merely trying to broaden philosophical thinking and find on what foundations your stance rests upon.

__________________
Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"

Also the very old and disabled. Some may be unable to even hold a weapon.

I will concede the disabled, but the fact one is very old surely means they are of age that means they have served and so a form of retributive punishment may be dealt ? And an obscure consideration that has come to mind is the disabled may have indeed been disabled on the battlefield, they may not pose a future threat, but they may have previously comitted war crimes upon you which need to be punished ?

Again i must stress (before people leap in criticising me) that these are not particularly positions i hold, but am keen to explore and discuss as they may be worth consideration.

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Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"

They are not nessicarily soldiers of tomorrow, there are a lot of possibilities and unknowns, the government can change, they could leave the country. If you're fighting with them, I'd assume that means you're at war with them, so hopefully the war won't last so long that multiple generations fight. The point is, that there are so many uncertainties, that even though they have that policy, you don't know if that child will actually fight, no more than you can tell if that child would sign up for a volunteer military.

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Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

If they commited "war crimes" in the past, then they are to be detained and tried for those crimes in a fair and just court. Only those that are current threats are allowed to be targeted, past threats and future posible threats are not.

__________________
Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

Well that depends on history. They could have been your ally at the time.

The disabled would be varied, some might be vets. The majority probably are not. It would not be right to punish the many innocent because of a few.

I know you are just playing the other side.

Very good You have basically covered my original position (though XJoe has raised new considerations with elderly and the disabled). They may even become deserters or double agents that aid your cause.


Maybe another consideration could be that there could be asylum seekers and immigrants who have not served (unless it is mandatory that they should) and so any mass bombing or strikes in public could hit these probable innocents also.

__________________
Viva Fidel

"If there ever was in the history of humanity an enemy who was truly universal, an enemy whose acts and moves trouble the entire world, threaten the entire world, attack the entire world in any way or another, that real and really universal enemy is precisely Yankee imperialism"

"North Americans don't understand... that our country is not just Cuba; our country is also humanity"