War Crimes

[McCulloch]

This post in the Israel debate got me thinking about war and ethics.

Is is possible to wage an ethical war? Is it practical to wage an ethical war, even when the other side does not? Which set of rules define ethical warfare?

[Nilloc James]

These are the rules of war:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_war

I thought they would make a good suggestion/base line for debate.

[Catharsis]

There is no such thing as "ethical warfare".

Only one Law exists in the world - the Law of the Jungle.

[Vanguard]

Is is possible to wage an ethical war? Is it practical to wage an ethical war, even when the other side does not? Which set of rules define ethical warfare?

To answer your first, it is only theoretically possible and virtually impossible. For starters, it would require all actions taken by all particpants at all times during the engagement to behave ethically assuming we have consensus on what these ethics would "look like".

As for your second, these days it seems the possibility of waging a largely ethical war increases in difficulty with each new engagement. I would imagine the rules of engagement for our soldiers in the Iraqi theatre are rules that 50 years ago would not have been a consideration. Because most of our ethics when in war revolve around the protection of the innocents, it makes sense that to the extent our foes should use civilians for military advantage our ability to wage this war ethically is diminshed. Hence, the problems we have had in Iraq. And more recently, the problem Israel will have in Gaza now that they have entered with foot soldiers. Ethical behavior can be darn right impractical and when at war can be almost fatal.

Finally, I'll be a bit evasive by saying that there is relatively little utility in defining these rules when the nature of the engagements change with the rapidity they do. Where is a conventional battle currently being fought? They don't happen anymore. It is all bordering on if not full-fledged guerilla warfare against those who would seek to maintain at least some modicum of ethical practice.

Watch very closely how the Israelis will fare in the media over the course of the next few days and/or weeks. They will be accused of breaking virtually every ethical warfare mandate on the books. Of course, those complaining will do very little to provide context - a context that includes Hamas and it's cohorts using civilian populations in every measurable way for their advantage.

[JoeyKnothead]

War is only ethical to the victor.

Overall, I'd have no qualms doing whatever I felt I had to do in order to ensure the survival of my country and fellow soldiers. Any ethical consideration would be secondary to the mission at hand.

This does not mean I would seek to wage an unethical campaign, only that I would do so as a last resort.