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

Chapter 13
<strong>the</strong> use of lethal force. If we have overwhelming trust in technology we will lose <strong>the</strong> ability
to recognise <strong>the</strong> different delicate aspects of warfare which require human judgement.
An example of <strong>the</strong> technical limitation <strong>and</strong> of target information <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> use of <strong>the</strong>
precision-guided munitions was when during Operation Allied Force NATO aircraft
bombed a railway bridge while a train was crossing. 549 A UAV was operating in <strong>the</strong> vicinity
of <strong>the</strong> railway bridge transmitting a real time picture to <strong>the</strong> CAOC 550 in Viezenca. The
picture from <strong>the</strong> UAV showed an “empty” railway bridge with no o<strong>the</strong>rs elements around.
Clearance was given to release weapons from <strong>the</strong> CAOC. Yet due to <strong>the</strong> limited ability to
change <strong>the</strong> angle of <strong>the</strong> camera on <strong>the</strong> UAV, <strong>the</strong> incoming train was not detected until
seconds before weapon impact. 551 The result was <strong>the</strong> death of non-combatants causing
uproar among <strong>the</strong> media <strong>and</strong> concern amongst NATO comm<strong>and</strong>ers. 552 The combination
of <strong>the</strong> limited visual angle from <strong>the</strong> UAV <strong>and</strong> a wrong assumption from <strong>the</strong> pilot dropping
<strong>the</strong> bomb, contributed to making this disastrous judgement. 553
Even if <strong>the</strong> aim of
technology is to give us advantages we have also to consider <strong>the</strong> limitations of technology
<strong>and</strong> not trust it blindly. This is especially relevant for people in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Air</strong> Force. The <strong>Air</strong>
Force is probably <strong>the</strong> most technology-dependent of all <strong>the</strong> armed services. The complex
technical systems upon which air forces depend can break down or errors can occur. It
is a short distance from a precision-bomb to an ordinary dumb bomb. We are ethically
irresponsible if we blindly trust technology without taking into account its limitations, or
if we blindly trust technology’s ability to give us crystal clear information. As air power
becomes more <strong>and</strong> more dependent on technology – for instance <strong>the</strong> increased use of
UCAV – we have an ethical obligation to know <strong>the</strong> limitations of technology. Also, as
far as possible we should be able to underst<strong>and</strong> what influence technology has on our
perception of <strong>the</strong> conduct of war.
The technical ability to discriminate between military <strong>and</strong> non-military targets has never
been better than it is today. Still, as pointed out above, harm to civilian personnel <strong>and</strong>
damage to infrastructure due to <strong>the</strong> use of air power do occur. There are several ethical
challenges concerning targeting. One of <strong>the</strong> ethical challenges, due to <strong>the</strong> fluid battlefield,
is <strong>the</strong> ability to discriminate between combatants <strong>and</strong> non-combatants, because
combatants are often indistinguishable from non-combatants. Combatants have driven
western air power to attack moving targets <strong>and</strong> targets of opportunity, which present a
higher chance of errors <strong>and</strong> collateral damage. The proportionate use of force is ano<strong>the</strong>r
ethical aspect highlighted by <strong>the</strong> environment in which <strong>the</strong> new wars are fought. The
weapons of air power are ill-suited for some of <strong>the</strong> missions conducted, <strong>the</strong>refore causing
greater damage than o<strong>the</strong>r means could have done. Verified <strong>and</strong> correct intelligence
is <strong>the</strong> basis for targeting. Even still, this area is subject to misuse, leading to ethically
wrongful decisions concerning <strong>the</strong> use of force. The technology involved in <strong>the</strong> use of air
<strong>Air</strong> <strong>Power</strong>, <strong>Insurgency</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> “War on Terror” 231