Michael Walzer, 'Noncombatant Immunity And Military Necessity'

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Jordan Tibbett PHIL 401 Dr. Donoghue 3/18/14 In the essay, ”Noncombatant Immunity and Military Necessity” by Michael Walzer, the idea of a balanced protection of citizens being a right in times of war is discussed. The concept here is that the military, as a protective unit to society, should focus not only on protecting its nation’s civilians, but also on being successful in their military actions and endeavors. After examining some other sources of information regarding the atomic bomb and bombing of Japanese forces in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I have been able to form an opinion of the justification and necessity in the situation. The idea of “nature of necessity” is a major concept discussed in Walzer’s essay and this particular concept relates to the reason of war or reasons for war. In his opinion, we can only justify the killing of people we already have reason to think are liable to be killed (Walzer, 144). He goes into detail in his description of this nature of necessity discussing the examples of the “naked soldiers”, or soldiers who are fighting for their nation’s war cause, but not actually fighting in the fullest meaning of the word. One of the example Walzer discusses in his tale of the naked soldiers is the soldier on patrol duty by himself unaware of the potential enemy snipers that could take him out at any point in time. Is it morally unethical and wrong for the opposing sniper to take out this patrol man who is not necessarily doing any harm at the moment? Walzer states that, “a naked man, like a funny man, is not a soldier”, and I myself completely agree with this statement (140). I believe that it is this thought here that indicates how war tactics should be carried out. Why harm innocent people who just happ... ... middle of paper ... ...ty of Hiroshima was completely unnecessary, and that the psychological and physical damage it left behind was enough to make the Japanese people lose all hope. I do understand that death is inevitable in times of war, but I don’t believe that this was the necessary face of death that should have been deemed necessary in this particular situation. This opinion is especially strengthened by the fact that many sources claim that Japan was going to surrender to American forces even before the atomic bomb was dropped. If we knew that the war was coming to a close, then why did we feel the need to go out with an unnecessary bang? It just does not seem morally or ethically right in my opinion and it is therefore why I feel that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima was not a justified act of military necessity, and was absolutely an unjustified violation of noncombatant immunity.

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