RISK, MILITARY ETHICS AND IRREGULAR WARFARE.

• Author: DeAtkine, Norvell B.

Text:

RISK, MILITARY ETHICS AND IRREGULAR WARFARE

By Colonel Tony Pfaff

http://www.fpri.org/enotes/2011/201112.pfaff.irregularwarfare.html

Reviewed by Norvell B. DeAtkine

Colonel Pfaff, Chief of International Military Affairs for the Army Central Command, maintains that the traditional approach to rules of engagement is increasingly irrelevant in an era of irregular warfare, underscored by the difficulty in differentiating hostile irregulars from noncombatants. He also finds that the emphasis put on the "hearts and minds" approach to overcoming a counterinsurgency, as codified by FM 3-24, has only aggravated the problem.

Colonel Pfaff, in a very erudite article, posits that a newer approach to the rules is required, one that moves away from the older, traditional rules of proportionality. He walks a delicate line between the view advocated by a U.S congressman who stated "unless you have been shot at keep your mouth shut" and a view of some academics that soldiers, basically, abdicate their right to life when they sign up, which means, in effect, that the non-combatanthas a moral right to life but soldier does not.

In setting the stage for his argument the author relates the story of an army unit under fire requesting artillery support, which was denied due to the proximity of Afghan civilians. Because they were unable to continue the mission, the unit requested smoke rounds to screen their withdrawal from the area. This too was denied, even though the only way anyone can get hurt from smoke...