&quot;So, Alderaan was a legitimate military target. Was the level of force used against it justified? It’s a tricky question, but it seems the least bad of all the alternatives. Consider another option the Empire could have taken: invading Alderaan, removing its leaders and installing a pro-Empire regime. However, putting boots on the ground in this manner would likely have destabilized not only the planet but also the entire region, creating a breeding ground for religious terrorists and draining blood and treasure for decades. It’s not hard to imagine a Jedi State of the Alderaan System (JSAS, for short, though they’d likely prefer the simpler Jedi State (JS)) arising from the ashes of some ill-conceived invasion and occupation.&quot;<p>This guy is arguing that it would have been better to nuke all of Iraq into a glassy plain (civilians, historical sites, and all) rather than provide a potential breeding ground for ISIS.  This completely ignores the fact that the occupation of Iraq was not conducted with, shall we say, anything resembling basic competence.  The occupation was also cut short early out of political expedience.  Palpatine would not have had to worry about approval ratings if his occupation of Alderaan had dragged on!  Finally, it&#x27;s worth noting that, as reprehensible as daesh&#x27;s actions may be, they amount to nothing even close to the atrocity of nuking a city.<p>So, based on this argument, the destruction of Alderaan was <i>not</i> justified.