Innocent Civilians

 

The whole notion of "innocent civilians" during wartime is bizarre. Every nation on Earth – with the possible exceptions of North Korea and Cuba – allows their citizens to freely leave and emigrate. So if they decide to stay, and live in the country, it's because they want to and voluntarily choose to.

Those who freely elect to reside inside a terrible nation, and live under its tyrannical government, are responsible for the evil actions the government undertakes. Unless a local resident is some sort of social radical and political revolutionary who favors liberty and justice, that person is answerable for, and guilty of, whatever his loathsome, totalitarian government and military do.

If China, Russia, and Iran seek to conquer their neighbors, or enslave the world, then the people of China, Russia, and Iran are fundamentally responsible for these depraved acts. There are essentially no "innocent civilians". Virtually all the adult citizenry is to blame for the horrors of their government and military.

It's the residents and citizens who put the government in power in the first place, and it's the people inside who refuse to replace or overthrow the dictatorship. And if they occasionally, weakly seek to do so, but can't, that's their fault too. It's also the denizens inside who financially, socially, emotionally, and politically support the warring soldiers, as they act in the citizens' name, and perpetrate their monstrosities. Thus the civilians of the nation are responsible and guilty – not innocent. In wartime, it's not just the government officials and soldiers, but the empowering people who deserve to die.