But let’s say after the war ended, convicted Nazi soldiers were lifted high on stakes and piles of wood set aflame beneath their feet. Let’s say they were slowly roasted in agony over the torment of the flames. What’s more, let’s say they were lifted just high enough to stay alive indefinitely. Most of us would think this a cruel and inhumane thing to do—a picture of torture. There is all the difference in the world between bombing an empire and torturing an individual. Fire is used very differently in these two examples. Bombing an empire is done to end a war; burning an individual is done
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