An unjust cause and the trigger effect

"Theophrastus, in his comparison of bad acts - such a comparison as one would make in accordance with the common notions of mankind - says, like a true philosopher, that the offenses which are committed through desire are more blamable than those which are committed through anger. For he who is excited by anger seems to turn away from reason with a certain pain and unconscious contraction; but he who offends through desire, being overpowered with pleasure, seems to be in a manner more intemperate in his offences. Rightly then, and in a way worthy of philosophy, he said that the offense which is committed with pleasure is more blamable than that which is committed with pain; and on the whole the one is more like a person who has been first wronged and through pain is compelled to be angry; but the other is moved by his own impulse to do wrong, being carried toward doing something by desire."

- Meditations, Marcus Aurelius

So many words, intelligent and otherwise, are being written about the torture of prisoners in Iraq. Likewise regarding the execution of Nicholas Berg. I have only the following to say: The second evil does not mitigate the first. On the contrary, the second evil must be added to the evil of the first. Keep in mind that:

1) Had we not tortured the prisoners in Abu Ghraib, Nick Berg would still be alive.

2) Had we shared peacemaking and governing duties with the United Nations, Nick Berg would still be alive.

3) Executioner Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is not Iraqi. He was born in Jordan. The Iraqis are innocent people in both situations. Their conduct is not in question.

But here are some questions.

What kind of people are we, and to what depths will we go to achieve our ends? Are we a nation of laws, or not? Do we resolve disputes like civilized people, or not? These questions are doubly important since the powers that be have framed the Iraq War and "war on terror" in terms the superiority of our ideas and culture. If our ideology is what we say it is (Enlightenment, democracy, pluralism, marketplace of ideas) then neither war nor peace can be won by force. But they can be lost through cruelty.