Poison Gas: Fair or Unfair
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War is the art of open, armed and often prolonged conflict carried on between nations, states, or parties. It is Mans solution to trouble and has been the problem-solver in countless political disputes. War is, like life itself, in my opinion, a game and winning is unquestionably the major objective. In sports, GMs and coaches recruit the ideal player for the job, their shining superstar, their secret Ðweapon. In the corporate world, corporations employ individuals who have the creativity, capabilities and skills to apply themselves to the final product. In war, Generals incorporate a combination of strategies, tactics and integrated weaponry in an effort to win for their cause. In my opinion, war is a mans game and if winning a battle means stabbing the opponent in the back by putting into operation the latest in chemical warfare then so be it.
Personally, I find the originality of chlorine gas in the First World War brilliant on many levels. It was the most feared weapon during that time. It was indiscriminate and was easily used on trenches, even when there was no apparent attack. Even in times during which soldiers would be out of sight, hidden in trenches and bomb-shell craters, where the machine gun was almost completely useless, the poison gas would perform its duty. The very beauty of this weapon and new innovation was that as soldiers were unprepared (and some uninformed) for such terror, there were very few practices of resistance. Hence, the opposing troops often fled in retreat.
Poison gas proved to be effective and immediately successful. It was the game of war in which it was first employed and I do not blame those who took advantage of the physiological effects it had on the enemies. In my opinion, you have to win somehow and an “uncivilized” win is still a win!
Poison gas was not designed to kill; rather it was to incapacitate an enemy so that they were incapable of defending their positions. Some may argue that the use of poisonous gas is inhumane and wrong. I disagree because in that sense, war itself is inhumane. The machine gun, for one, drills holes through flesh and bone. The flame-thrower has soldiers burn to death and the rifle literally blows a considerably large shot in soldiers leaving them with barely any hope of survival.
Just like sports, work, and life itself, war is a game and only one side wins. You have to give