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KILLING INNOCENTS



Jan. 15, 2002






MARINA DEL REY, CA--The responsibility for all deaths in war lies with the aggressor who initiates force, not with those who defend themselves, said Dr. Onkar Ghate, senior fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute.



It is wrong to call all noncombatants in an enemy country innocent civilians, noted Dr. Ghate. Many civilians in those states actively support, materially and spiritually, their tyrannical regimes. They are not innocents. As we drop our bombs, should we worry about the likes of those Palestinians who celebrated by dancing in the streets on September 11?



Other civilians in enemy states are passive, unthinking followers, said Dr. Ghate. Their work and economic production, however meager, supports their terrorist governments and so they are in part responsible for the continued power of our attackers. They too are not innocent--and their deaths may be unavoidable in order for America to defend itself.



The civilians in enemy territory who actually oppose their dictatorial regimes are usually the regimes' first victims, noted Dr.Ghate. Any such individuals who remain alive and outside of prison camps should flee their country or rebel.



The truly innocent, said Dr. Ghate, should not be the target of our strikes. But they will acknowledge America's right to attack their country. They will also know that even though they might be killed in the process, it is their only chance at freedom. In WWII, occupied Europe welcomed American invasion, even though this meant that some civilians who actually resisted the Nazis would die in American bombings.



To win the war in the Mid-East, said Dr. Ghate, we must not let a mistaken concern with 'innocents' deter us. We must have the profound moral conviction that we have the right to exist. We have the right to destroy those who initiate force to deprive us of our rights and lives. With full moral certainty we must urge our government to defend our lives, even if that requires the death of many so-called 'innocents' in terrorists countries.



Ayn Rand Institute senior fellow Dr. Onkar Ghate is available for interviews.

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