******
Does a saint about to go to war "see what she wants to see."
When a saint goes to war, it is more than her motives she must check.
Her intelligence analysis must be sound. Does the evidence require the sword -- or are there other alternatives?
"God's signs" can be misleading even if the CIA approves them.
A saint's decisions are as sound as her "signs," her visions.
Did God really mean what he seemed -- or was the data ambiguous?
Even a saint such as Joan must face her "Conscience."
Did she sacrifice for God or kill for her own "pleasure?"
Here are some eternal questions for all who go to war.
Does it take a saint to wage a "just war?"
Can even a saint be corrupted once "just war" begins?
Does even a saint get dragged down into cruelty once battle flames?
The Banner and the Sword
"Just War" Defined
Even if noble at the outset, can the saint become addicted to a love of winning?
Even if she seeks to inspire with the banner, can she end up taking pleasure in conquests by the sword?
A saint can lead by inspiration -- but ultimately she must take responsibility for the deaths her sword caused.
Even in Joan's day, there was no free lunch.
The Seduction of Battle
Now, let us see how it can work if you are not a saint.
When men and women go into battle -- and get dragged beyond their "just" intentions into cruel results.
Meet former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara -- surely no saint.
He died in 2009 -- not before leaving as atonement this movie, The Fog of War (2003)
In it he takes upon his long anguished self to explain how he helped kill hundreds of thousands in WWII and Vietnam.
A man who woke up one day to be a villain examines how misplaced visions and flawed intelligence led him and others to be not saints but angels of death.
Saint Joan, President Obama, be very careful where you lead us.
We would be wise not to trust you.
For in your righteousness you may be deluded.
When men and women go into battle -- and get dragged beyond their "just" intentions into cruel results.
Meet former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara -- surely no saint.
He died in 2009 -- not before leaving as atonement this movie, The Fog of War (2003)
In it he takes upon his long anguished self to explain how he helped kill hundreds of thousands in WWII and Vietnam.
A man who woke up one day to be a villain examines how misplaced visions and flawed intelligence led him and others to be not saints but angels of death.
Saint Joan, President Obama, be very careful where you lead us.
We would be wise not to trust you.
For in your righteousness you may be deluded.
******
Saint Joan, Is This Where You Led Us?
Ah, Saint Joan, explore thy motivation.
Here the secretly filmed hanging of Saddam Hussein reveals the final act of Bush family revenge.
George W. Bush went to war in part to eliminate a long time family enemy, the man who tried to assassinate his father, George H.W. Bush.
The leader of a great nation used an American invasion to execute by proxy a personal enemy.
Thy motive, dear Joan, keep thine eye on thy motive.
For motive can be one part of the puzzle when deciding if a war is "just."
Here the secretly filmed hanging of Saddam Hussein reveals the final act of Bush family revenge.
George W. Bush went to war in part to eliminate a long time family enemy, the man who tried to assassinate his father, George H.W. Bush.
The leader of a great nation used an American invasion to execute by proxy a personal enemy.
Thy motive, dear Joan, keep thine eye on thy motive.
For motive can be one part of the puzzle when deciding if a war is "just."
