Реферат: The Ethics Of War Essay Research Paper

that could not defend itself against the hostile attack.

Connery also discusses the amount and type of force that is

permissible. He says, “In a defensive war, only proportional responses are

permissible to answer aggression. An exception is possible if the enemy is

extraordinarily well-armed and likely to use dis-proportionate force. For

instance, if my enemy were in possession of nuclear bombs which I had good

reason to believe he would use, it would be suicidal for me to choose the

more leisurely precision bombing.” This means that if the situation could be

resolved with a limited display of military force, then it is not necessary or

permissible to exceed this level of aggression in the attack. However, if the

enemy you are facing has superior weapons or is willing to use devastating

force against you, then you are permitted to use whatever actions necessary to

resolve the situation and save your own country.

The majority of Connery’s argument focuses on the morality of waging

indiscriminate warfare on non-combatants, i.e. non-soldiers, civilians. In his

article he says:

Moralists agree that the noncombatant may not be the direct target of

any destructive weapon, large or small. This means that one may

neither deliberately aim his attack at noncombatants nor drop bombs

without distinction on combatants and noncombatants alike. Such

bombing would be contrary to sound moral principles, even if

resorted to only in retaliation.

But granted a sufficiently important military target which could not

be safely eliminated by any less drastic means, nuclear bombing

would be morally justified, even if it involved the resultant loss of a

large segment of the civilian population. It is presumed, of course,

that the good to be achieved is at least equal to the expected damages.

I would tend to agree with this argument, that it would be morally permissible

to bomb civilians as long as the end justifies the means. But what justifies the