what moral basis do we have in condemning Bin Laden, Tojo, or even Hitler?

When you say "If the reality of achieving one's goals in war by any means possible is an objective fact, then what moral basis do we have in condemning Bin Laden, Tojo, or even Hitler? After all, weren't they just conducting the nasty business of war?" I think in a sense we can say, yep. But they were on the wrong side. I think there is a certain moral immunity that imbues to those who are not the instigators of conflict. Which is one of the reasons I have real issues with our involvement in Iraq.

It looks like it will end well but I do not think we had any justification for being there at all.

But, in WWII, we did not ask for that war, nor did China, England, France, etc. I do think that that single fact makes a real difference. If you are going to start a war, you had d*mned well know that it is serious business that you are getting yourself involved in and that the consequences can be catastrophic for you and your people. As an aside, if civilians do not pay a severe toll in war, what motivation is there for those same civilians to stop choosing and/or following warlike leadership. If they have no price to pay, what do they care. Well they care a lot if they have no homes, no infrastructure, no sons, and no jobs.

As R.E. Lee said "It is well that war is so terrible ...". In the end, there is no way in Hades I would ever convict Truman of anything. He had a choice, he made it, the war ended. That is all.

I think it is good that we have the GC, but to be honest, people don't follow it. Certainly, the US is as close a follower as there is. Look to Vietnam for all the evidence of that that you need that our enemies (or even allies) don't feel obliged to follow it.

Are we hypocrites? Absolutely, but that is the nature of things, and we are less so than others. We have dirt, lots of it, just less than others. I am afraid that that is the best you can do. We are a hopelessly imperfect species living in an imperfect world and, in the case of WWII, we were placed in an impossible crucible of hatred and violence. Were we perfect? Not even close. But we were a d*mn sight better than the other side. For me, that is where it ends.