The Ethics of War

The Ethics of War

I choose to do my paper on the ethics of war, and plan to discuss the

morality and rules of war. One of the biggest reasons that I chose this topic is

that I was in the Army for a few years, and therefore have some insight and

concern on the subject of war. I do not think that my opinions will be biased

as I can still take an objective look at the arguments, but I do plan to argue

that the morality of war is relative to the situation.

I am generally in agreement with the author's of the articles in our

textbook, and have read and understand their arguments. In "Morality of

Nuclear Armanent", Connery discusses when it is and is not permissible to

use nuclear weapons to resolve a conflict. He starts out with several

statements that set the tone for his argument. He says that "Wars of

aggression are always impermissible" and "The only just war is a defensive

war...". This means that it is never permissible to attack another country,

unless they have attacked or provoked you. Now this could be argued

because there are many situations that I believe would warrant military

aggression, that would not require an actual prior show of force. For

example, the situation in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during Operation Desert

Storm. Sadam Hussien did not attack the United States, nor did his actions

threaten the lives of U.S. citizens. I strongly believe however, that the U.S.

had every right, if not an obligation to intervene with military force. The U.S.

had economic interests to protect, as well as the defense of a small country

that could not defend itself ...

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...sible.

In conclusion, the ethics of war is a very touchy, controversial subject

that would have to be thoroughly evaluated. I do not even pretend to know

who would be qualified to make a decision that would affect so many lives. I

have quoted men who argue strongly against the argument that I support, but

I would have to say that Connery's position most closely resembles mine. I

was in the Army during the Persian Gulf conflict, and was assigned to an

infantry unit. I know that any one of us in that unit would not have hesitated

to kill enemy soldiers, but I am very glad that I never had to make a choice

concerning civilian lives. I can honestly say that even though I support the

killing of noncombatants when there is no other way, I still don't know if I

could do it myself.