Week 4 (How do States Fight?)

Question 1

What is “civilian victimization” and what are some examples of this military strategy?

Answer 1

A strategy that states use during a war that involves the intentional targeting and killing of “non-combatant” individuals who are not involved in fighting and who are not carrying any weapons

Question 2

Examples of Civilian Victimization

Answer 2

1.) Bombing civilian targets from the land, air, or sea, Hiroshima and Nagasaki
2.) Blockading or sanctioning areas that deprive civilians of food and medicines
3.) Forced displacement and concentration

Question 3

Franscico Di Vittoria

Answer 3

Vitoria was deeply interested in the moral responsibilities towards others, in the context not only of empire building but also of war. Wrote extensively on jus in bello- the laws and norms that seek to govern how war is waged. Analysing his conditions for justified civilian vitimization in the context of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Question 4

1.) In a just war, all military strategies are ethical

Answer 4

This first proposition suggests that the morality of the nuclear bombing attacks in Japan depends on the justness of the US war against Japan.

Question 5

2.) In a just war, military strategies are permitted as long as they are required for victory over the immoral enemy

Answer 5

This second proposition suggests that if the nuclear bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were “necessary to victory” then they were moral.

Question 6

3.) In a just war, it is immoral to kill civilians intentionally when they can be distinguished from combatants

Answer 6

This third proposition suggests the intentional killing of civilians is moral when it is impossible to distinguish civilians and combatants from one another. However, in the case of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it seems that they knew and intentionally targeted civilians.

Question 7

4.) In a just war, the killing of civilians may be justified when attacking a site of strategic significance and when the attacker lacks the military technology needed to distinguish civilian from combatant

Answer 7

This fourth proposition brings up the question of whether or not the US military had the technology to conduct “precision bombing”? That is, did they have the capability to identify military targets from thousands of feet in the air and bomb them directly in a way to avoid civilian “collateral damage” as much as possible? If so, then Vitoria might suggest that the nuclear bombings were impermissible and immoral.

Question 8

5.)In a just war, military strategies require restraint and moderation, with an emphasis on defensive goals and future peace

Answer 8

This fifth proposition would raise the question of whether it is right to characterize the nuclear attacks as the least destructive, most pro-peace option. On one hand, the nuclear bombings do not appear to involve any form of military restraint, as they caused widespread destruction of, and death in, two cities… On the other hand, the bombings were launched as part of a defensive war that the Japanese began in 1941 and the nuclear bomb option was the least destructive option available at the time

Question 9

Stimsons Defense/Rationale
(4)

Answer 9

1.) He depicts Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor as immoral and aggressive in nature and America’s response as moral and defensive
2.) Hiroshima and Nagasaki were central to the Japanese war effort, and, thus, attacking them with nuclear weapons may have been essential to fighting the war
3.) The bombings were launched as part of a defensive war that the Japanese began in 1941 and the nuclear bomb option was the least destructive option available at the time.
4.) The nuclear bombing was essential to achieving the unconditional surrender and complete overhaul of the Japanese state, creating the conditions for a new era of peaceful American-Japanese relations