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

Chapter 13
The use of <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Power</strong> Today:
Have New Ethical Challenges Occurred?
Steinar S<strong>and</strong>erød
Since <strong>the</strong> Kosovo War in 1999, western air power 515 has been used primarily against
asymmetric opponents fighting in an “unconventional” style. In today’s wars in
Afghanistan <strong>and</strong> Iraq, air power is a major contributor in <strong>the</strong> fight against insurgents.
Due to characteristics including speed <strong>and</strong> range, air power can deliver lethal firepower
where <strong>and</strong> when it is needed. Technological developments in precision weaponry have
made it possible to destroy targets with pin-point accuracy. Therefore <strong>the</strong> optimistic
perception of today’s air power is that it has precision <strong>and</strong> can selectively target <strong>and</strong> take
out <strong>the</strong> enemy only. The promise made is that future wars can be won within days with
few casualties among one’s own soldiers <strong>and</strong> civilian lives. Is this in fact <strong>the</strong> case? 516
Numerous reports after operations in Afghanistan <strong>and</strong> Iraq offered evidence of collateral
damage due to incorrect bombing. 517 The new counter-insurgency manual from <strong>the</strong> US
Army/US Marine Corps recognises <strong>the</strong> significant contributions air power can make
to counter-insurgency operations. At <strong>the</strong> same time <strong>the</strong> manual urges comm<strong>and</strong>ers to
“exercise exceptional care when using air power”. 518 Does this indicate that <strong>the</strong>re is a
mismatch here between <strong>the</strong> perception of air power <strong>and</strong> its usage in recent wars?
This chapter aims to highlight ethical challenges in today’s use of air power by addressing
<strong>the</strong> ethical implications of <strong>the</strong> trends of air power <strong>and</strong> examining some of <strong>the</strong> moral issues
involved in <strong>the</strong> use of force.
Ethics are essentiality a matter of values rooted in culture. I recognise Human Rights as
an attempt to develop universal ethical st<strong>and</strong>ards. Yet ethics tells us what, from a cultural
point of view is seen as right or wrong; what conforms or conflicts with <strong>the</strong> ruling norms of
individual cultures. Norwegian <strong>and</strong> British ethics, for example, may differ in some certain
areas but be similar in o<strong>the</strong>rs. Military ethics can also vary due to <strong>the</strong>ir close relationship
with cultures. Different views of ethics between military forces increase <strong>the</strong> complexity of
applying air power in today’s warfare. In addition, <strong>the</strong> complexity of <strong>the</strong> battlefield <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>
application of force are not <strong>the</strong> only things to cause ethical challenges. Fur<strong>the</strong>r complexity
comes when western military forces wage war on non-western opponents, as is <strong>the</strong> case
in Afghanistan <strong>and</strong> Iraq. The ethics of <strong>the</strong> population in Iraq <strong>and</strong> Afghanistan differ widely
from those found in western states. Discussing ethics is <strong>the</strong>refore a problematical area
because our view points are so dependent on our own cultural frameworks.
<strong>Air</strong> <strong>Power</strong>, <strong>Insurgency</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> “War on Terror” 225