❊ When is Donating Arms the Ethical Thing to Do?

Let’s say someone somewhere set up a website that allows you to buy guns that will be sent to the resistance in Syria. Forget for a moment that this is a brilliant idea for a scam and imagine it’s a legitimate site. Would you donate to it with a clear conscience?

This is a hypothetical situation but it raises some interesting questions about war, propaganda and morality. Would you pay money for a weapon over which you have no control, that can possibly kill children and innocent bystanders?

What about in situations like the one happening in Syria right now. A powerful army is indiscriminately shelling a city to stamp out an insurgency, killing hundreds of innocent bystanders, and the world is proving incapable of intervening. Would you make an exception to save innocent lives? What if you were guaranteed anonymity? What if that same army has killed members of your family when it shelled your own city during the Lebanese war? Would revenge be a better motivation for you?

If you believed that it was ethical to donate guns to Lebanese southerners during the Israeli assault and occupation, would you be a hypocrite if you respond no to the questions above? Does it really make a difference if the assaulting army is made up of people who speak your language?

For the Lebanese who need a bit of mental torture, please try to honestly answer these questions.

What about me? Would I hypothetically donate money to send guns to the Syrian resistance? I’m still grappling with an answer.