Military Ethics An Introduction with Case Studies

Military Ethics: An Introduction with Case Studies provides an accessible introduction to the ethical issues faced by today's junior and mid-ranking military personnel. Offering an exceptionally practical perspective, it includes more than fifty engaging case studies--personal, historical, and fictional accounts--that give students a birds-eye view of various real-world ethical dilemmas. Opening with an introduction to ethics and an overview of ethical theory, the book goes on to discuss ethical problems related to: the use and misuse of power and authority; discrimination and proportionality in traditional conflicts, irregular wars, and humanitarian military interventions; supreme emergency, terrorism, and responses to terrorism; and much more. Military Ethics is enhanced by suggestions for further reading, an abbreviation key, an extensive bibliography, and an appendix including a list of the international treaties that make up the Law of Armed Conflict. A companion website at www.oup.com/us/coleman features lecture notes, additional case studies, and discussion questions.

Preface: ; List of Abbreviations: ; 1. INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS ETHICS? WHAT IS AN ETHICAL DECISION?; What is ethics and why should I study it?; Law and ethics; Ethical dilemmas and tests of integrity; 2. ETHICAL THEORY: AN OVERVIEW; Case Study 2.1: The Runaway Railway Car: ; Case Study 2.2: The Spare Parts Surgeon: ; Ethical considerations; Theories of value and theories of ethics; Ethical theory: Consequences; Case Study 2.3: First Use of the Atomic Bomb: ; Criticizing consequentialism; Ethical Theory: Principles and duties; Case Study 2.4: Shooting the Downed Pilot: ; Criticizing deontology; Ethical Theory: Character; Case Study 2.5: Marines Don't Do That: ; Is ethics simply relative?; Integrating theories of ethics; 3. PROFESSIONAL ETHICS, DUTIES, AND OBLIGATIONS; Case Study 3.1: The HMAS Westralia Fire: ; Discussion; The profession of arms; Role morality; Military values and military virtue; Case Study 3.2: Leave No One Behind: ; Case Study 3.3: The Training Course: ; The Triangular Balance; Case Study 3.4: Military Dispute over Casualties in Afghanistan: ; Case Study 3.5: Esequiel Hernandez Shooting: ; 4. JUST WAR THEORY: TRADITIONAL ISSUES OF JUS AD BELLUM; Case Study 4.1: The 1991 Gulf War: ; Case Study 4.2: The 2003 Invasion of Iraq: ; Discussion; Alternative theories on war; A very brief history of just war theory; Ethics and international law; Implementing the principles of jus ad bellum; Case Study 4.3: The Korean War: ; Case Study 4.4: The Six Day War: ; Case Study 4.5: Israeli Attack on Iraq's Osirak Nuclear Reactor: ; Case Study 4.6: The Falklands War: ; Assessing the two gulf wars; 5. JUST WAR THEORY: MODERN ISSUES OF JUS AD BELLUM; HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION, INSURGENCY, AND COUNTER-INSURGENCY; Case Study 5.1: Operation Cast Lead: ; Case Study 5.2: The 1999 NATO Intervention in Support of Kosovo: ; Discussion; Of countries, states, and nations; The basics of jus ad bellum and insurgency; Case Study 5.3: The Fight Against Apartheid: ; Jus ad bellum and difficult insurgency cases; Jus ad bellum and counter-insurgency; Case Study 5.4: Israel, Uganda, and the Entebbe Incident: ; Justification for humanitarian intervention; Case Study 5.5: The Rwandan Genocide: ; Case Study 5.6: Intervention in East Timor: ; Responsibility to protect; 6. POWER AND AUTHORITY: GIVING AND FOLLOWING ORDERS; Case Study 6.1: Ehren Watada and Iraq: ; Case Study 6.2: Marine Advance on Baghdad: ; Discussion; Considering Authority; Case Study 6.3: Wearing Body Armour in Afghanistan: ; Case Study 6.4: The Logistics Officer's Problem: ; The ethical problems of orders; Case Study 6.5: Orders to HMS Alacrity: ; Case Study 6.6: Placing the Strobe: ; Case Study 6.7: Come Right!: ; Case Study 6.8: Reinterpreting Orders: ; 7. DISCRIMINATION AND PROPORTIONALITY I: TRADITIONAL ISSUES OF JUS IN BELLO; Case Study 7.1: Airpower and Marine Assault: ; Discussion; Discrimination; The ethical permissibility of targeting combatants; The principle of non-combatant immunity; Case Study 7.2: The Incident at the Fallujah Mosque: ; Proportionality; Case Study 7.3: Sinking of the General Belgrano: ; Case Study 7.4: The Dam Busters Raid: ; Modern Assessment of collateral damage; Case Study 7.5: Conviction of Milan Marti?: ; Summary; 8. DISCRIMINATION AND PROPORTIONALITY II: JUS IN BELLO IN IRREGULAR WARS; Case Study 8.1: Casualties in the 2008-2009 Gaza War: ; Discussion; Discrimination in irregular wars; Case Study 8.2: Defending the Crashed Helicopter: ; Rules of Engagement and Civilian Casualties in Irregular Wars; Case Study 8.3: Assault on a Taliban Compound: ; Difficult cases of discrimination in irregular wars; Case Study 8.4: Israel and Targeted Killing: ; Proportionality in irregular wars; 9. DISCRIMINATION AND PROPORTIONALITY III: JUS IN BELLO IN HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS; Case Study 9.1: NATO Attacks and Dual-Use Targets: ; Discussion; Jus in bello in armed humanitarian operations; Dual-use targets; Peacekeeping or peacemaking; Case Study 9.2: Protecting Civilians by Endangering Troops: ; Case Study 9.3: The Baby Ram: ; Case Study 9.4: The Child Soldier: ; Case Study 9.5: Moscow Theatre Siege: ; 10. ISSUES OF SURRENDER AND DETENTION; Case Study 10.1: Operation Red Wings: ; Discussion; Surrender; Case Study 10.2: White Flags in Desert Storm: ; Case Study 10.3: After the Battle: ; Prisoners of war; Case Study 10.4: The Sniper and the Murderer: ; 11. SUPREME EMERGENCY, TERRORISM AND TORTURE; Case Study 11.1: The Petraeus Letter to the Troops: ; Discussion; Supreme emergency; Case Study 11.2: The Decision to Bomb German Cities: ; Supreme emergency and terrorism in the modern world; Supreme emergency and counter-terrorism in the modern world; Case Study 11.3: The Ticking Bomb in Paris: ; Case Study 11.4: The Ticking Bomb in Sri Lanka: ; 12. CONCLUSION; The competent military leader and the good military leader; Appendix: The laws of armed conflict: ; Bibliography: ; Index:

Dr. Stephen Coleman is Senior Lecturer in Ethics and Leadership & Vincent Fairfax Foundation Fellow in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of NSW, Canberra, at the Australian Defence Force Academy. He is the author of one book (The Ethics of Artificial Uteruses: Implications for Reproduction and Abortion, Ashgate, 2004) and many papers in academic journals and edited collections on a diverse range of topics in applied ethics, including military ethics, police ethics, medical ethics, and the practical applications of human rights.