The Value of a Human Life

An important ethical question is raised in this piece: Does the value of one American soldier exceed that of one Iraqi? The answer is important in that you may devalue your own life if you answer it wrongly.

Just One U.S. Soldier Outweighs 'Tens of Thousands' of Iraqis
“It is Iraqi unity itself that threatens to defeat the entire American agenda.”
Writer's Name Not Found
Translated By Nicolas Dagher
November 14, 2006
Basaer News - Iraq- Original Article (Arabic)

The life of an American soldier is more important than the lives of tens of thousands of Iraqis. This is not a personal opinion, but one based on facts and truth. Simply put, everyone knows what was done by American forces after one of their soldiers was kidnapped in central Baghdad's Karada district. They rushed to launch search and rescue operations, prevented people from leaving their homes and searched inside each and every house.

For this operation they massed thousands of troops, hundreds of vehicles and dozens of aircraft, and asked all of their local collaborators to dig up any information that could lead to the location of the kidnapped American soldier. Based on newly-uncovered intelligence, American forces then widened the scope of their operations and redoubled their efforts. The Americans didn’t hesitate to bomb residential areas and homes during these operations, resulting in the deaths of Iraqis – all in an effort to find one kidnapped American.

Read it here.