Air Power, Insurgency and the “War on Terror” - Prof. Joel Hayward's ...

Chapter 10
<strong>Air</strong> <strong>Power</strong> <strong>and</strong> Ethics in <strong>the</strong> Age of <strong>the</strong> Global Salafi Jihad
M A Ashraf
“I shall do such things I know not, but <strong>the</strong>y shall be <strong>the</strong> terrors of <strong>the</strong> earth”
Shakespeare, King Lear
More than any o<strong>the</strong>r form of military activity, air power has influenced <strong>the</strong> debate
on ethics in warfare. A public debate on <strong>the</strong> use of aerial bombardment began
during <strong>the</strong> Great War <strong>and</strong> reached an apogee during <strong>the</strong> Second World War.
Today, with civilian casualties accounting for more than 75 percent of deaths in war as
compared to between 10-15 percent at <strong>the</strong> beginning of <strong>the</strong> twentieth century, <strong>the</strong> issue
of civilian casualties influences political <strong>and</strong> strategic decisions more so than any o<strong>the</strong>r
ethical criterion. The application of air power during <strong>the</strong> inter-war years <strong>and</strong> World War
II, along with <strong>the</strong> associated ethical debate, have a profound <strong>and</strong> largely unidentified
relevance to today’s conflicts, especially to <strong>the</strong> Global Salafi Jihad (GSJ) currently
attempting to change <strong>the</strong> world order. The contemporary protagonists in <strong>the</strong> Middle
East conflict use British <strong>and</strong> US actions during <strong>the</strong> Second World War as precedence <strong>and</strong>
justification for <strong>the</strong>ir own use of force. Israel has done so since <strong>the</strong> early 1980s. More
recently, GSJ elements such as Al Qaeda have used examples such as <strong>the</strong> western aerial
bombardment of civilians both in <strong>the</strong>ir grievance narratives <strong>and</strong> as a justification for <strong>the</strong>
use of terrorism as an act of self-defence. In <strong>the</strong> current conflicts in Afghanistan <strong>and</strong> Iraq,
civilian casualties of air power represent <strong>the</strong> greatest potential threat to <strong>the</strong> success of <strong>the</strong>
coalition mission in <strong>the</strong>se countries. Yet comparatively little research has been carried out
by RAF personnel on <strong>the</strong> issues of ethics or morality in aerial warfare. The research that
has been undertaken has tended to address interpretation of laws of armed conflict in
contemporary situations. A reason for this may be that history is a crucial source of pride
<strong>and</strong> ethos in any army force <strong>and</strong> aspects of <strong>the</strong> past that tarnish <strong>the</strong> image of a noble
service make uncomfortable subjects for discussion. A tarnished version of air power
history is, however, being exploited by international actors in <strong>the</strong>ir political rhetoric <strong>and</strong>
so <strong>the</strong> issue can nei<strong>the</strong>r be avoided nor dismissed without confronting its realities.
This chapter explores <strong>the</strong> major elements of <strong>the</strong> early ethical debates on air power in
order to expose <strong>the</strong> relationship between strategic imperatives <strong>and</strong> ethical aspirations. It
compares <strong>the</strong>se with <strong>the</strong> debate, perceptions <strong>and</strong> rhetoric employed by Middle Eastern
leaders, especially those that relate to GSJ. The aim is not to compare ethics but to expose
similarities or differences in arguments. Ethics, by <strong>the</strong>ir very nature, are subjective <strong>and</strong>
value-based. However, as far as it is possible to do so, a judgemental or normative
approach will be avoided. This chapter concentrates on ethics relating to <strong>the</strong> conduct of
<strong>Air</strong> <strong>Power</strong>, <strong>Insurgency</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> “War on Terror” 161