Do you consider yourself a realist? A pacifist? Or do you subscribe to just war theory? How does this impact your view of war crimes? Should there be crimes in war?
I do not consider myself a realist or a pacifist. I more subscribe to just war theory. The reason why I subscribe myself to just war theory is because I believe that there are legitimate wars and illegitimate wars. In the book Crime Without Borders: An Introduction to International Criminal Justice by Aaron Fichtelberg states, “War is usually a bad thing, but under certain circumstances, it may be justified or even obligatory” (Fichtelberg, 2008, pg. 112). In chapter six it described certain laws and articles that can justify countries or states to initialize or join in a war.
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One reason why a person would commit a war crime would be out of self-defense. An example of this would be in the case of George Bush, when he sent military troops to invade Iraq. Many people believed that George Bush committed a war crime, but in actuality, George Bush was following the orders of the United Nations Security Council to maintain international peace and security. There are also many reasons why soldiers commit war crimes as well. Some of those reasons would be due to superior orders defense and to past events that can impact their duty during war. The superior orders defense is when an individual soldier carries out orders that was requested by his superior or commander. In order for a soldier to use the superior orders defense one must comply with what the Military Court of Appeals ruled which states, “The acts of subordinate done in compliance with an unlawful order given him by his superior are excused and impose no criminal liability upon him unless the superior’s order is one which a man of ordinary sense and understanding would, under the circumstances, know to be unlawful, or if the order in questions is actually known to the accused to be unlawful” ( Fichtelberg, 2008, pg.131). A prime example of both reasons would be the case of My Lai.
3. Consider that members of the International Committee of Red Cross witness atrocities and even events that unfold in "death camps." Describe the pros and cons of the neutrality of this organization. In your opinion, should the ICRC remain
When it comes to any war, soldiers are placed in dangerous situations based on the orders given to them. They are forced to make quick decisions, usually out of their control, to defend their country against its said enemy. The act of killing is in no way ethical, but when done under the circumstances of war, military duty and survival, the wrongness of it can be debated. Consequently, the act of not killing can be unethical as well, since the outcome can be the sacrifice of a fellow comrade. The process of ethical reasoning cannot be used when faced with these kinds of decision because soldiers of war are unable to see all sides of the story, making it impossible to weigh the outcomes.
The morality of soldiers and the purpose of war are tied also to the truth the soldiers must tell themselves in order to participate in the gruesome and random killing which is falsely justified
First point in differentiate between Pacifism and Militarism is in term of ideological oriented. In pacifism, their ideology is they belief that international disputes can and should be peacefully resolved. Here means the Pacifism is opposition to war and violence in making decision. The words of Pacifism are a related to the term of ahimsa (to do no harm) which is a core philosophy in Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism. Whereas, Militarism is the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests (New Oxford American, 2007). It may also imply the glorification of the ideals of a professional military class and the
Overall, there will always be droughts whether during war it is best to be pacifist or anti-pacifist. We can forecast that it is best to be anti-pacifist during any war that we may be faced with. This is what’s best because talk about pacifist will always aid the enemy in various ways from encouraging them, making us easy targets, and the preparation of it. We have to be aware that sometimes war is the only answer to defeat evil and establish peace. Before people start judging how bad war is and inhumane they should consider how many evil people we have gotten rid of before they were able to do more harm. It will always be up to the people weather or not they should be pacifist or anti pacifist during a war but we can conclude that pacifism will always aid the
Pacifism can be defined as people who believe in resolving conflicts without the use of violence. Many folks believe that pacifism is a moral ideal and many oppose of pacifism. Despite, that many people hold that pacifism is righteous, the truth is that pacifism is immoral and it is affecting and harming our society. Michael Kelly, the author of “The Negative Impact on Pacifism” believes that “pacifism is, inescapably and profoundly, immoral… pacifism is on the side if the murderers, and it is on the side of letting them murder again.” Kelly observes that without action within a time where an attack has occurred more people are going to be injured or killed.
Pacifism covers an array of views and there are many subcategories of pacifism, some of which I will cover, but the main definition of the word pacifism is the opposition to war and/or violence. Perhaps the most famous use of the word pacifism is found in the “Sermon on the Mount”, where Jesus claims the “peacemakers” are blessed. In this passage, the Greek word eirenopoios is translated into Latin as pacifici, which means those who work for peace. One common and simple argument for pacifism among religious groups or god fearing people is the argument that god’s revealed words says, through the bible, “Thou shalt not kill.”
War crime is an action carried out during the conduct of a war that violates accepted international rules of war. The Japan committed a war crime against the Chinese and US. The US did not commit a war crime but was involved in one. The German committed war crime during the World War I and World War II. Japan did commit war crime during World War II.
Just War Theory is a theory that is designed to explain how to morally start a war and moral ways of acting during a war. The different sections in the just war theory are Jus Ad Bellum, “right to war” and Jus In Bello “laws of war.” Within the just war theory there has been some speculation from pacifists, people who believe in resolving issues in a non-violent way. Brian Orend critiques a type of pacifism, deontological pacifism, the pacifism that discusses not having a war since it involves killing and killing involves violating a human being’s right to life. He argues that even though humans have a right to life there are certain things that can take that right way.
The second necessity is that a just cause is required in order to wage war.
Pacifism is the broad belief that war and violence are unethical and that disputes should be settled with nonviolence. It is divided into three main sections: absolute pacifism, conditional pacifism, and selective pacifism. The different branches of pacifism support its effectiveness as a foreign policy because they provide different ways for nations to incorporate pacifism into their foreign policy. It gives nations the freedom to choose how they want to include peace without being restricted to one branch. For example, absolute pacifism is probably not an effective principle to dictate foreign policy, but the fact that there are other forms, such as selective and conditional, makes pacifism more effective as a foreign policy.
There must be a just cause when resorting to war. This can imply either self-defence actions or be fought in order to provide humanitarian aid to the victims of aggression.
<br>There are, however, various categories of pacifist'. A total pacifist' is someone who completely avoids violence and believes it can never be justified, not even in self-defence or to protect others this they see as the only morally correct view of war. A relative pacifist is someone who may use violence in certain situations but who supports disarmament. They are discriminating about WW1 but agree that WW2 had to be fought. Nuclear pacifists believe that conventional weapons are acceptable as a last resort if war is inevitable, as it is, but
During the 20th century America has been involved in many conflicts that have led to war or the taking up of arms against other humans and nations. Although the vast majority of Americans have blindly accepted these actions throughout the century, more and more people are seeing war as morally wrong. Reasons for this epiphany are based off of a variety of things and encompass many other aspects related to war and killing examples include: due to moral and ethical principles, objection to war due to strong religious beliefs, the objection to violence due to the same ideals above, objection to the government's use of force, and the objection to the use of weapons of mass destruction. Being a conscientious objector is fairly uncommon in the United States military but there are those who have served have identified as one.
There are, however, various categories of ‘pacifist’. A ‘total pacifist’ is someone who completely avoids violence and believes it can never be justified, not even in self-defence or to protect others – this they see as the only morally correct view of war. A relative pacifist is someone who may use violence in certain situations but who supports disarmament. They are discriminating about WW1 but agree that WW2 had to be fought. Nuclear pacifists believe that conventional weapons are acceptable as a last resort if war is inevitable, as it is, but nuclear
Engaging in a self-defensive war, having been attacked by another country. Stage 4 of Kohlberg’s moral development, I believe, would be reason for engaging in war. Stage 4 is where the need for social order and respect of the justice system is developed (Williams & Arrigo, 2012). By being attacked from another country, our social order has been compromised and justice would be to defend our way of life. c.