Letters: Aug. 31, 1970

The New Morality

Sir: The advent of nuclear warfare has added a new chapter to the age-old paradox of the morality of war. Conventionality, not humanity, is the new criterion to rationalize the act of killing.

The hundreds of thousands killed in the fire bombings of Tokyo were acceptable: it was done by conventional means.

The millions of casualties incurred by the clash of land armies on the Japanese mainland would be acceptable: it would be done by conventional means.

The starvation of millions of women and children as a result of a continued blockade...

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