Fair enough. What’s your framework for determining human rights violations when terrorists embed among civilians? And how should liberal democracies respond to fundamentalists driven by old religious ideologies use human shields while promising your destruction? What would the US do?
Discussion
It’s essential that any response of a state to such challenges respects human rights and adheres to international laws, as this distinguishes it from the actions of terrorists, doesn’t it? Unbalanced achievements or overreach in response, neglecting the principles of international humanitarian law, targeting or refusing entry to independent journalists, starving people, deporting individuals, and similar actions undermine moral standing.
My framework for assessing human rights violations in such situations is based on the principle of protecting civilians and upholding human dignity. Having had the fortune of being born and raised in Austria, I believe that a meaningful contribution anyone can make to help people in that region exit this spiral of violence is to support those who advocate for reconciliation, dialogue, and social justice.
We all pray for dialogue, resolution and peace. The problem is that societies operate on different ideological spectrums. Some center around Western values of human rights and tolerance. Others around ancient religious doctrines that reject those very principles. Resolution becomes very hard impossible when core values are fundamentally incompatible.
I believe the problem is being misidentified. We should first consider how such forces come to power in the first place. This issue is not primarily about belief systems. Instead, it stems from social inequality, political instability, and a lack of education, all of which create a fertile ground for extremism. Additionally, we must acknowledge the role of economic elites who, in pursuit of their own interests, often manipulate public sentiment by stirring up fears and creating enemy images.
I disagree with you. All the things you mention are surely factor but in my belief, belief systems are the central factor in play here.
Hmmm.
US belief system has cost the lives of several million people since World War II.
These sources provide comprehensive analyses and estimates of the human costs of the conflicts in which the US has been involved:
Costs of War Project: Brown University
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/
Iraq Body Count: Iraq Body Count
https://www.iraqbodycount.org/
Lancet Study on Iraq: The Lancet
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(06)69491-9/abstract
