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Air Force Pulls Christian-Themed Ethics Training for Nuclear Missile Officers

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Demeter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-01-11 08:34 AM
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Air Force Pulls Christian-Themed Ethics Training for Nuclear Missile Officers
http://www.truth-out.org/air-force-pulls-christian-themed-ethics-training-missile-officers/1311972789

The Air Force, in response to an exclusive report published by Truthout earlier this week, has withdrawn materials used in a training session that relied upon passages from the New and Old Testament and a quote from an ex-Nazi SS officer to teach missile officers about the morals and ethics of launching nuclear weapons. The Nuclear Ethics and Nuclear Warfare training "has been taken out of the curriculum and is being reviewed," said David Smith, chief of public affairs of Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas. "The commander reviewed it and decided we needed to have a good hard look at it and make sure it reflected views of modern society."

Smith said the ethics training has been in place for "20-plus years" and the decision to remove it was made on Wednesday after Truthout's report was published. He added that it will now be "given thorough scrutiny" and "folks will be appointed to look at what we have and determine its utility and if they think its useful to continue having an ethics course they will develop a new course."

The course was led by Air Force chaplains and took place during a missile officer's first week in training at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Officers who train to be missileers were required to attend the ethics course, which included a PowerPoint presentation on St. Augustine's "Christian Just War Theory" as well as numerous examples of characters from the New and Old Testament the training materials asserted engaged in warfighting in a "righteous way."

St. Augustine's "Qualifications for Just War," according to the way the Air Force characterized it in slides used in the ethics training, are: "to avenge or to avert evil; to protect the innocent and restore moral social order (just cause)" and "to restore moral order; not expand power, not for pride or revenge (just intent)."

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no_hypocrisy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-01-11 08:37 AM
Response to Original message
1. Nothing like knowing that the guardians of nuclear warheads have a strong belief in
Armageddon.

:sarcasm:
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Jefferson23 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-01-11 09:30 AM
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2. Incredible, K&R. n/t
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LongTomH Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-01-11 09:47 AM
Response to Original message
3. Why do we still have nuclear-tipped missiles in the ground, 21 years after the Cold War 'ended?'
And why are we spending billions to 'modernize' that arsenal?

Somebody here is crazy - and I don't think it's me!:crazy:
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Demeter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-01-11 12:13 PM
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4. All good points
:kick:
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avebury Donating Member (455 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-01-11 12:17 PM
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5. K&R
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