E Y E W E A R, THE BLOG BY TODD SWIFT

Killing people in war is surely one of the more troubling ethical quandaries - for if to kill is immoral, when is such murder justified, even by a state or nation?  Whole religions and philosophies have come across the fields carrying such answers.  One needs not be too hypocritical - if a bomb had killed Hitler during WW2, very few people would call that a terrible crime.

As such, targeting the head of the snake is a valid war aim.  And, if the war is valid, then the act is rendered - as far as things go - just.  Still, the killing of some of the Libyan leader's family - including a son, and three grand-children, feels wrong - it seems a step too far - a step beyond the permitted limits of the UN mandate.  It feels like murder.  Murder in the name of a cause, maybe, but murder still.  It is to be hoped that the conflict in Libya is resolved soon.

This most recent attack by NATO is likely to entrench fury and intransigence, not lead to surrender.  It does, if nothing else, remind …

Rarely has a day been so fraught with peril and possibility as St. Patrick's Day, 2011.  On the one hand, we have the potential for three or four nuclear meltdowns, that might wreak great havoc on Japan, and on the other, we have the danger that rebel-held Libya might fall to the brutal government forces.  In both ongoing dramas, each of the highest possible orders of importance, brave people are facing mortal danger to try and save the day.  In each case, the outcome is fully uncertain - will the rods be cooled in time, will the West intervene and stop the Colonel?  By the weekend, we may be looking at two compounded tragedies, or two upward trajectories to sunny uplands of hope and repair, or a mix.  Fingers crossed.