Bomber Command Memorial dedication

I had a lengthy and tiresome dispute on another forum (GA rather than historical) with someone who had been duped by reading Among the Dead Cities: Was the Allied Bombing of Civilians in WWII a Necessity or a Crime? by A.C.Grayling into believing that the allied bomber campaign was “a war crime of huge dimensions”

Pressed on what alternative Grayling proposed for the beleaguered Britain of 1940 he eventually responded with

I’ve just re-skim-read Grayling, and his answer to the question of what else should have been done is fighter-protected precision bombing, more akin to what the 8th Air Force did.

I am sure nobody here needs me to highlight the ludicrous impracticality of the suggestion?

A bit of later backtracking saw the position change to “Harris and Churchill were the perpetrators of the crime” thus absolving the crews of condemnation as war criminals.

When I pointed out that this was the “Only following orders” defence, and that to accept it would mean absolving concentration camp guards, torturers, executioners and all involved in The Final Solution, the discussion came to a sudden end.

I hate it when people with little knowledge and understanding read a book written in the familiar “Lets find something controversial to write about an historical event” business plan (Are you still here Dr North?) and treat it as gospel.

Moggy 😡

PPP

‘Guardian’ ! Doncha love ’em ?

Should I ever find myself back in the Armed Forces I’ll remember to ensure that my mags are full of ‘moral complexity’ rounds interspersed with ‘regret’ tracer and that my three inch mortar has a full complement of ‘invtation to reflection’ bombs.

I think that those very nice Guardian people would find an excuse for anyone caught raping their mum.

John Green

“It is big; bigger than, for example, the memorial to the Battle of Britain on the banks of the Thames.”

Is it a hundred times bigger? :rolleyes:

Naturally Liberals from the Guardian whined and complained! The problem with Liberal policies is they only work if the other guy is a Liberal, or is willing to listen to Liberal whinings. If he is someone such a Hitler, the chance are he’ll just shoot them and continue doing what he was doing before.

WRT to the quote below…

Moral complexity? Regret? Nooo if I was them I’d have bombed them back too. Actually I’d have bombed them back sooner, and ten times as hard. If you’re in a war against the Nazis, it’s definitely not a time to limit your offence. Fortunately the designers didn’t go all PC on us and made the memorial just as it should be.

As for Bomber Harris, he deserves his memorial, a true legend!

“There is some question as to whether it should have been built at all, given that there are already eloquent air force memorials at Runnymede and on the Victoria Embankment. There is also a statue of Bomber Command’s leader, Bomber Harris, erected after much debate in the Strand. If it had to be built, you might hope for some nuance, some recognition of moral complexity, some regret, some invitation to reflection. Unfortunately the memorial, which the Queen will open on Thursday, offers none of those things.

Its tone is defiant and triumphant, using quotations from Churchill and Pericles to justify the bombings. Its location in central London is explained on the debatable grounds that attacking German cities was the best way of sparing London from further bombing. It is big; bigger than, for example, the memorial to the Battle of Britain on the banks of the Thames.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/jun/24/bomber-command-memorial-london-review