Very much in the news at the moment -- a moral dilemma: To what extent should the leaders of a democratic country be prepared to accept that in pursuit of a foreign policy objective there will be "collateral damage" including the deaths of some of their own citizens?
The pundits on the news are all discussing this today, as Cameron tries to address the issue of the barbaric behaviour of the Islamic State terrorists towards UK nationals and the foreign policy objectives of the government. Should the government take a hard line full of "stern unwavering resolve" and become militarily involved, in the knowledge that UK citizens might be next in line for barbaric executions?
This is a difficult and serious issue. Interestingly, it is one of the issues dealt with head-on in my novel "Acts of God" -- where incredibly complex dilemmas are confronted both by the powers that be (UK government, the Americans and NATO) and by the heroes of the story. Watch this space.....
I knew it was an allegory when I wrote it. The story is set in the Cold War in 1962, but I had not appreciated just how close the story-line might take us to the big events on the international stage in 2014.
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