CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY DAREN BOWYER JUST WAR DOCTRINE

number of them have some difficulty in being just an arm of the Government’s
foreign policy. 206
For others it will be pressure from their families, or from their employers 207 or simply
the inability to reconcile the demands of called-up reserve service with sustaining a
civilian career. Nevertheless, it seems reasonable to argue that such strain, and the
impact on retention and recruiting, was exacerbated by a lack of public support for the
war. Nor was this an issue just for the UK. America’s reserve force recruiting suffered
too, despite the attractiveness of the package offered to reservists in terms of medical
care (in perpetuity) and college funding. 208
The UK’s Adjutant General, Sir Alistair Irwin, has also emphasised the importance of
proper conduct in war – addressing in particular counter-terrorist wars where the enemy
may be seen to enjoy the advantage of what Irwin terms ‘moral asymmetry’ 209 ; that is to
say that the enemy is able to act without regard to either the legal or moral rules that are
binding his opponent.
(D)emocracies are expected to behave in a way that is entirely consistent with
the law. * …..The opprobrium that attaches to national institutions that act
illegally is infinitely greater than anything that attaches to the terrorist
themselves. …. …. An untrue statement by those defending a democracy is
castigated – because democracies are expected to tell the truth.
General Irwin identifies four reasons why democracies must remain ‘on the right side of
the law; on the right side of what is right and what is wrong’. Two – common
humanity, and the continued pride of those engaged – act primarily at the individual
level and will be considered in the next section. His other two reasons are the
practicality of avoiding unintended long-term consequences, and operating in an
environment of continued scrutiny by ‘an army of organisations and bodies prowling
the touchline watching for every infringement of the rules.’ 210 Considering long-term
unintended consequences the General notes that ‘we can all call quickly to mind the
counter-productive effects of engaging in illegal acts, especially those that involve
excessive violence.’ This issue was looked at above in respect of the international
consequences (see p109 et seq) but is equally valid here.
* And, one might add, consistent with the norms of international society (See Section 1.1.3)
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