Terrorism

Terrorism

Introduction

The battlefields for the War on Terror as well as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are not your typical battlefields. Gone are the days where armies would line up against each other and the strongest, best equipped army survived. These wars would all test the principles of “Brennan”, the second criteria for a Just War and describes how militaries are should act during a war. Distinctions, proportionality, military necessity, fair treatment of prisoners of war and not using weapons or methods that are considered “evil” are the principles of “Brennan”. When Al Qaeda attacked the United States on September 11th, they completely disregarded these rules when they deliberately attacked civilians and civilian buildings as well as continuing their attacks on civilians with suicide bombers instead of attacking military combatants. The rules of distinction prohibit purposely attacking civilians.

Discussion

Another issue facing the use of drones was the targeted killing of U.S. born turned al-Qaida member Anwar al-Awlaki (Epatko, 2011). This attack raises the legal question as to whether or not al-Awlaki's rights were violated (Epatko, 2011). Despite critics' complaints, “the State Department's top lawyer, Harold Koh, has argued that the U.S. may only act out of clear self-defense, targeting people actively plotting to hit us and whose host nations can't or won't do the job for us (Crowley, 2011). Targeting al-Awlaki was an act of self-defense and was only done in order to save the lives of other Americans. One of the most controversial issues for the U.S. during the War on Terror was the questionable treatment of enemy prisoners. Photos showing the humiliation and abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq by U.S. military personnel violated society's moral and ethical laws and values. The torture and abuse of detainees were not just in Iraq but also in Afghanistan and also Cuba (Adam, 2006). Were these actions “just”, no they were not “just” but those that committed these crimes were charged, convicted, and sent to prison (MARTINFROST). Cases like these were not normal and the United States did treat prisoners morally and ethically right. In fact, one soldier, Spc. Joseph Darby, reported the abuse because “It violated everything I personally believed in and all I'd been taught about the rules of war" (Beliefnet.com). Additionally, Col. David E. Quantock, was assigned as the new commander at Abu Ghraib Prison and immediately corrected the improper treatment of prisoners by conducting refresher training on the Geneva Convention Law of Land Warfare. It was also mainly done to ensure all detainees are treated with respect, dignity, and last but not the least, humanity” (Martin, 2007). These abuses also led to the ARMY “banning torture and degrading treatment of prisoners” and this instruction applies to all branches of the U.S. military.

The last criteria for Brennan are that unlawful or “evil” weapons are not used. Nuclear weapons and biological weapons were not used during any of these wars. If any would have been used, it would have changed the face of the war because of the ...