Reply #16: Churchill didn't propose burning London, just to fight Germans in it. [View All]

Stalin didn't propose burning Stalingrad, just fighting Germans in it.

The Confederate government didn't propose burning Atlanta. General Hood did burn military installations and supplies. It did get out of hand and cause extensive damage, but there's no evidence that Hood or any other Confederate leader had a plan to intentionally burn Atlanta if the North conquered it.

Of course, the Russian envoy could be totally clueless or making stuff up (for some unknown reason). If he's right and Gaddafi really has a plan that "if the rebels seize the city, we will cover it with missiles and blow it up" that goes way beyond

we shall fight (the rebels) on the beaches (of Misrata),
we shall fight (them) on the landing grounds (of Benghazi),
we shall fight (them) in the fields and in the streets (of Tripoli),
we shall fight (them) in the hills (western mountains);
we shall never surrender.

The French did not blow up Paris when they lost it. The Poles didn't blow up Warsaw. The English never proposed blowing up London if they lost it. If you love something, you may fight for it (and it may suffer as a result - like Warsaw, London and Stalingrad), but you don't threaten to blow it up yourself.