TRUMP'S PARDONING OF WAR CRIMINALS OPENS A MORAL WOUND

President Trump has recently pardoned US service members who were convicted of murder in a war zone. The action has drawn sharp criticisms from veterans and others who assert that the pardon undercuts the moral standing of the US in the eyes of the world.

We submit that wars are not necessary. That notwithstanding, the US is engaged in endless wars resulting in unconscionable death and suffering. They dehumanize all involved. As Matthew Hoh has recently opined, there are great moral costs of war.

In this New York Times opinion, the case is made that Trump’s action of pardoning US war criminals unnecessarily heightens and widens this moral cost. VFP 104 supports this assessment and opposes adding to the senseless cruelty of war by betraying agreed standards of conduct.