Mechanized Infantry

[A Arabian]

Just to defend america, the assassination attempts against castro were technically prior to EO 12.333 which banned assassination of foriegn leaders (in peacetime - its legal in wartime, as I recall). Of course, on the flip side of the coin, we have Quadaffi, and more recently the launching of missiles against Osama Bin Laden in Afghanastan, which regardless of it being right or wrong, does strike me as an assassination attempt.

However, to tie the whole thread up, I must say that I am in many ways pleased that the media has such an active role in warfare. Countries (at least those with the free press) can no longer firebomb dresden without having serious ramifications at home. With the media present, its up to the citizens at home to decide if it is morally justifiable or not. No, I don't think the military gives a darn about the geneva convention if it means giving the enemy even the slightest advantage militarily, but they would care if it meant facing revolt at home due to their activities.

But I'm pretty sure that APCs ARE within the geneva convention (I think thats how this thread started, right? )

[fatherof4]

Small point of order here:

There is no law forbidding assinations, it's an "Executive Order". President Clinton or any of his successors can change this policy at any time. If it was a law, the President would have to get Congress to change it first.

Of course, the President who does rescind it will pay a huge political price unless you there's a situation like in Tom Clancy's book "Executive Orders". (If you haven't read it you should. For the excellent modern tank battle scenes if nothing else!!!!)

[Fionn]

Yes, Executive Orders is a good read AND it represents the nightmare of most doctors too.

An airborne human version of Ebola (related to Marburg)... What very few people know is that a simian version of Ebola which had previously been transmitted to a few Americans in an American lab DID become airborne. Fortunately for everyone in the US the airborne strain was only deadly to monkeys..

We were very lucky. Only a few lab workers died from the contact strain while all the monkeys were exterminated by the government once it became airborne. The building is sealed in concrete (just like the Chernobyl reactors) and will remain so in perpituity just in case.

You can forget AIDS and meteorites etc as the end of all life on earth. The most likely cause of the virtual wiping out of humanity will be the mutation of a virulent disease into an airborne form. Even virulent flu IF it could survive longer in the air could wipe out most of humanity.

Hell we're LUCKY that Ebola is so deadly since it is contracted in the wild (most probably from bat droppings or bat bites) and by the time people reach their home village again they are in the terminal stages.. It kills so quickly that it doesn't get much of a chance to spread..

There is a chance that they may have localised the source of Ebola to a huge cave filled with bats in central Africa BUT there's not much chance of anyone going in to conduct tests since of the three scientists who went in a couple of years ago to examine it 2 died of Ebola and the other almost did.. Kind of makes you appreciate the FAE version of virus containment doesn't it?

[Marko]

Certainly the case of Hitler in 1938 is pretty cut and dried. But, in general, the asassination of a leader is no guarantee of a change for the better. There are always nasty people willing to fill the shoes of a despot.

Marko