Justified Bombing, Justifiable Self-Defence

It is important to recognise that morality is not the exclusive preserve of protesters, whether outside the gates of Parliament, hanging over the river, outside the gates of No. 10, or outside Faslane, Devonport or Aldermaston. Most people, including most Christians, reject the pacifist morality that says it would be better to be subjugated by superior military power and lose our freedoms than to possess nuclear weapons, on the grounds that no dictatorship lasts for ever and our moral judgment would be intact-even if we were in chains or dead. – Robert Key MP (Salisbury)

This month’s BBC History Magazine leads with an article about Bomber Command in the Second World War. Titled, “Good Men Doing An Ugly Job“, it discusses the controversy that ensued following Britain’s decision to ‘area bomb’ large areas of urban Germany. The picture above graphically illustrates just one of those cities, Dresden, that Bomber Command chose to completely destroy. The resultant loss of 600,000 German civilian lives initially proved controversial, so much so, that unlike Fighter Command, there is still no national memorial to the memory of the ‘Bomber Boys’, 55,000 of whom died during the campaign.

Not only did over 50,000 men lose their lives, many were mentally scarred, one of whom happens to be my grandfather. He flew in 30 bombing missions over Germany and Occupied France, sitting precariously in his tail-gun position. I am told he suffered flashbacks about what he witnessed for many decades after the war ended. His sacrifice, and those of his fellow airmen, should be recognised as contributing greatly towards the noble cause of removing Hitler from power. By doing so, they won the peace, stopped the Holocaust and brought democracy to the continent of Europe.

Because it is a noble endeavour to go to war to remove tyrants. It is also right for democratic countries, where liberty and tolerance are part of the national fabric, to firmly resist intimidation and terror. The problem for the present generation is that the foe is less easily defined, and more importantly, far from easy to attack. Furthermore, with the advent of 24hr news media, everyone gets to see the results of warfare immediately. I have no doubt that appalling images from the Vietnam war, arguably the first televised conflict, contributed to the waning of public support at home in America. I am concerned, however, that warfare imagery could deflect political leaders from making the ‘right’ decision’ for the world in the longer term. Would the Allies have continued the bombing onslaught of German cities if camera teams had been on the ground in Hamburg and Dresden? If so, what of the Final Solution, the execution of which accelerated after the Germans began to lose the war? My point being that one could make a moral case for bombing Germany to defend the lives of innocent Jews, however, if images of civilian deaths in Germany had become more widely seen, the British public’s support for the bombing may have dwindled.

This week’s decision on Trident should be seen in the light of this recent history. Wednesday’s debate included many important contributions. Robert Key MP made an impressive speech in which he argued persuasively that Britain had the moral right to defend its way of life. I support his view in the same way that I supported the renewal of our nuclear deterrent. I have previously stated my concern that Trident may be a weapon for another age, however, history teaches us that sometimes world events warrant a tough moral response. When Hitler attempted to take over Europe and annihilate any who stood in his way, it was right for Britain to ‘stand up and be counted’. When the morally-corrupt Soviet Union threatened us with a massive array of nuclear weapons it was right for Britain and its Allies to stand firm. Today’s foe appears more elusive, but he and any future enemy, be they terrorist group or country, should know that Britain will defend itself firmly in the face of intolerance, tyranny and terror.