Quote Originally Posted by Subotan View Post
What about the soldiers killed by the Real IRA outside their barracks in Northern Ireland a few weeks ago? Does that make the Real IRA guerillas or terrorists?
Were they attacking the soldiers of a group they are in a declared war with? Has their group attempted to resolve the matter peacefully, and if so, were their demands reasonable? Situations involving political entities can get very complicated. Also, judging the morality or worth of a group of people is much messier than judging each individual, as one should.

I am certain for example, there are members of the Taliban who are less extreme, believe in their cause, and side with extremists among them so they can have a better chance at achieving their goals. Not everyone inside an organization we're at war with is a soulless killing machine. I'm reminded of the United States civil war... I believe that one side held the moral high ground (or higher ground... neither was saintly) but that the side that did not was not comprised of wholly evil people. People need to stop looking at things in black and white terms, in my opinion. All of us contain within us a seed of evil and a seed of good; it's what grows from those two seeds which determines whether you're in the right or the wrong; whether you hold the moral high ground, the legitimacy of the use of force, and so on. People should be judged individually by their works, and groups should be judged also by their works.

I don't buy into the "us versus them" mentality. Some among the enemy are the enemy and will never make peace; others can be talked to. Nothing is solved by eradicating everyone who opposes you, because there will always be those who oppose you; and the more people you eradicate, the more people will oppose you. And then you're an enemy of all mankind.