Stephen Nathanson - Terrorism and the Ethics of War

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Terrorism and the Ethics of War

Most people strongly condemn terrorism; yet they often fail to say how terrorist acts differ from other acts of violence such as the killing of civilians in war. Stephen Nathanson argues that we cannot have morally credible views about terrorism if we focus on terrorism alone and neglect broader issues about the ethics of war. His book challenges influential views on the ethics of war, including the realist view that morality does not apply to war, and Michael Walzers defense of attacks on civilians in supreme emergency circumstances. It provides a clear definition of terrorism, an analysis of what makes terrorism morally wrong, and a rule-utilitarian defense of noncombatant immunity, as well as discussions of the Allied bombings of cities in World War II, collateral damage, and the clash between rights theories and utilitarianism. It will interest a wide range of readers in philosophy, political theory, international relations, and law.

STEPHEN NATHANSON is Professor of Philosophy at Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts. He is the author of several books, including Patriotism, Morality and Peace (1993) and Economic Justice (1998), as well as numerous articles on issues in ethics and political philosophy.

Terrorism and the Ethics of War

Stephen Nathanson

Northeastern University

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, So Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo

Cambridge University Press

The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK

Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

www.cambridge.org

Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521137164

Stephen Nathanson 2010

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published in print format 2010

ISBN 978-0-511-72551-7 mobipocket

ISBN 978-0-511-72691-0 eBook (Kindle edition)

ISBN 978-0-521-19995-7 Hardback

ISBN 978-0-521-13716-4 Paperback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

To my sister, Joan Spivak, and to the memory of our grandmother, Tillie Dender Levy

Acknowledgments

Some of the people who have influenced this book have done so by carrying out horrific attacks against other human beings. I acknowledge their influence but offer no thanks.

My thanks are due, however, to the many students in my courses on war-related issues, to my department colleagues, to conference organizers and others who have given me the chance to present my ideas in public. I also thank and apologize to the many people whose writings I have learned from. I have not been able to discuss most of them, and even when I discuss individuals, I have generally been unable to do full justice to their thinking in the text.

I thank everyone who has questioned, criticized, and encouraged me in this project. A few need special acknowledgment. Mike Meltsner sparked the idea of writing a book that focused on terrorism and provided moral support along the way. Igor Primoratz has been my long-distance colleague, supporter, and constructive critic since I started writing on these topics. I have benefited greatly from his writings and edited works on terrorism as well as his comments on a draft of this book. For comments on and encouragement of my work in this area, I am grateful to John Basl, David Benatar, Michael Burns, Bill Crotty, Bernard Gert, Bart Gruzalski, Ron Hirschbein, Marvin Kohl, Nelson Lande, Bruce Landesman, David Lyons,George Rainbolt, David Schmitt, James Sterba, Michael Tolley, and John Troyer.

I thank Northeastern University for a sabbatical during which I wrote drafts of large parts of the book, Susan Setta for a course reduction to help revisions along, the readers for Cambridge University Press for their extensive comments, and Hilary Gaskin for her interest in, and support of, the book.

I also thank my friends in Newton Dialogues on Peace and War for camaraderie in difficult times.

My wife Linda remains my best friend and best supporter. I continue to be deeply grateful for her and to her.

The book incorporates ideas published in Is the War on Terrorism a Defense of Civilization? Concerned Philosophers for Peace Newsletter vol. 22 (Spring/Fall ).

Introduction

America must maintain our moral clarity... Murdering the innocent to advance an ideology is wrong every time, everywhere.

President George W. Bush, farewell address

This book, like many others, owes its existence to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Nonetheless, the problems that it deals with existed long before these attacks. Many of these problems have been preoccupations of mine for a long time. Although I have never fought in a war or lived in a war zone, war, violence, and threats of destruction have loomed large throughout my life.

While many questions can and should be asked about war and political violence, my main focus will be on moral questions. Because of the September 11 attacks and the subsequent war on terrorism, I begin with moral questions about terrorism. Much of the book, however, deals with more general moral questions about war and violence. The reason for this is that we cannot have morally credible views about terrorism if we focus on terrorism alone and neglect broader issues about the ethics of war.

My aim in this book is to answer five questions:

What is terrorism?

If terrorism is especially wrong, what features of terrorism make it especially wrong?

If terrorism is especially wrong, why do moral condemnations of terrorism often lack credibility? Why do they evoke cynical responses rather than affirmations of respect for human life?

What conditions must be met in order for condemnations of terrorism to be morally credible?

Is terrorism always wrong, or can it sometimes be morally justified?

The methods I use to answer these questions draw on traditions of philosophical analysis that go back to Socrates. Underlying these methods is the belief that difficult questions require careful thinking and that we can best understand issues by trying to state beliefs clearly and examine the reasons for and against them.

My perspective on these issues is also influenced by my being an American and by my long-standing skepticism about the use of war and violence. While I am not a pacifist, both temperament and experience have made me wary of war and wary of people who are too eager for violent responses to problems. Officially, of course, almost everyone is against war. In fact, war is often attractive to political leaders and to ordinary people. The deep appeal of war, its great legacy of suffering, and the frequency of unnecessary wars have made me skeptical about arguments for going to war. Nonetheless, I accept that there are times when the arguments for war are compelling.

Like others, my immediate responses to the September 11 attacks were shock, horror, and fear. While I worried about the possibility of additional attacks against us, however, I also worried about what we Americans or more accurately our political leaders would do in response to the September 11 attacks. And, however our leaders might choose to act, what should we, ordinary citizens, want them to do?

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