An Interesting Short Story by Dan Simmons

... can be found here.

It deals with the topic of the ever-growing conflict with the Islamic world. It also touches on the topic of how to fight a war, which is a topic covered very well in John Lewis' Defensor Patriae. I credit this lecture with single-handedly cutting through all the propoganda on war I've been bombarded with my entire life.

If you don't know the moral purpose of war, or can't understand why the Geneva Convention and concepts such as a "compassionate war" are self-destructive to any nation, or if the idea dropping a nuclear weapon on an enemy nation first fills you with all sorts of moral trepidation, or if you belive in the concept of "innocent civilians" in an enemy country, you need to listen to this lecture.

--Hat Tip NoodleFood