This is just an cynical excuse that the Kim Monarchist Dictatorship uses to maintain absolute power and control over the hermit kingdom.
You're listening to NPR.
This is just an cynical excuse that the Kim Monarchist Dictatorship uses to maintain absolute power and control over the hermit kingdom.
You're listening to NPR.
This is true and I don't want to come off as saying other countries don't have people in that suck just as much, but I do think there is a distinction between crewing a single bomber dropping a nuke and being part of a large bombing campaign/missile attack, both suck but I feel like the nuke just has a lot more personal responsibility, one/a few people personally delivering death to tens of thousands in an instant. A non-piece of shit would have just crashed their plane into the sea and stopped the whole thing. One bomber in a large attack, though deadly isn't going to save the day by refusing to go.
If the crew of the Enola Gay had refused to fly, another crew would have been sent. If they had crashed the Enola Gay into the ocean, there was another bomb almost ready and a bunch more on the way. I think the individual responsibility factor is no different from a regular bombing raid.
But we're talking about domestic populations justifying mass deaths of enemy civilians. I think very few groups could claim an immunity to that.