Proportionality in war

David Cortright wrote an article in the journal America (Oct. 19, 2009) about the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. He is director of policy studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

He raises questions about the ethical nature of this war. In Afghanistan, civilian casualties have risen in the last two years to a level of approximately 1000 per year. A thousand civilians a year! Who are we out to kill? (source: Afghanistan Body Count compiled by Marc Herold at the University of new Hampshire)


According to David Kilcullen, former Pentagon adviser, drone strikes killed 14 alleged senior Al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan from 2006 through early 2009. During that same period drone strikes killed nearly 700 Pakistani civilians. No wonder we aren't welcomed!

Mary Ellen O'Connell, law professor at the University of Notre Dame, says that these drone attacks lack legal justification and violate fundamental moral principles. 

According to the "Just War Theory" of the Christian tradition, the principles of "proportionality" and "discrimination of civilians" must be observed for a war to be considered "just." These principles are obviously not at work in this war.

It's the whole Vietnam thing over again: destroying villages in order to save them. Cortright recommends this: a smaller number of foreign troops; special operations forces to maintain pressure on Al Qaeda and disrupt attempts to re-establish terrorist bases; increased international commitment to development, responsible governance, and the promotion of human rights.

I think Al Qaeda has gotten what they wanted. Our soldiers are dying. We are killing civilians and being hated more by people in those regions. We are using up our economy in military costs. They have drained us of resources. Our hostile actions are helping them recruit more terrorists. It's a never-ending cycle. They get us to come over there where our soldiers can be sitting targets--they don't even have to come over here. Is this intelligent on our part? It doesn't work. 

But what do I know? I'm not a General. I'm just a specific.