Yuval Ginbar
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199540914
- eISBN:
- 9780191716256
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199540914.003.0016
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter concludes Part III, which examines four models of legalized torture. Neither Israel nor the USA have succeeded in limiting torture to ticking bomb situations (or to high value ...
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This chapter concludes Part III, which examines four models of legalized torture. Neither Israel nor the USA have succeeded in limiting torture to ticking bomb situations (or to high value detainees), although both states have refined their models in an effort to do so. Both states claim, probably rightly in some specific cases, that torturing (not so named) has thwarted terrorist attacks and saved lives. Neither, however, has claimed to have thereby put an end to such attacks, and the counterclaim that torture has overall done more harm than good, including in terms of human lives, cannot easily be refuted. Other conclusions are to be drawn following the discussion of salient legal issues arising from the models, in Part IV.Less
This chapter concludes Part III, which examines four models of legalized torture. Neither Israel nor the USA have succeeded in limiting torture to ticking bomb situations (or to high value detainees), although both states have refined their models in an effort to do so. Both states claim, probably rightly in some specific cases, that torturing (not so named) has thwarted terrorist attacks and saved lives. Neither, however, has claimed to have thereby put an end to such attacks, and the counterclaim that torture has overall done more harm than good, including in terms of human lives, cannot easily be refuted. Other conclusions are to be drawn following the discussion of salient legal issues arising from the models, in Part IV.
Yuval Ginbar
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199540914
- eISBN:
- 9780191716256
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199540914.003.0006
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter concludes the discussion of the ticking bomb question as a one of pure individual morality. For the purpose of defending an absolute prohibition on torture a minimal absolutist position, ...
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This chapter concludes the discussion of the ticking bomb question as a one of pure individual morality. For the purpose of defending an absolute prohibition on torture a minimal absolutist position, rather than a wider moral theory, is sufficient. The overwhelming strength of the ‘numbers’ in the torture-justifying argument is also its moral downfall, among other things because it must allow the torture of the innocent, making each of us, potentially, a victim of torture — as well as a torturer. The qualities of character needed for one person to inflict unimaginable cruelty upon another cannot sit easily with our concept of a good character. A torture-justifier would indeed commit atrocities, where necessary, to save us, but only if we belong to a large enough number of potential victims. The minimal absolutist, in contrast, would always do anything humanly possible to save innocent lives.Less
This chapter concludes the discussion of the ticking bomb question as a one of pure individual morality. For the purpose of defending an absolute prohibition on torture a minimal absolutist position, rather than a wider moral theory, is sufficient. The overwhelming strength of the ‘numbers’ in the torture-justifying argument is also its moral downfall, among other things because it must allow the torture of the innocent, making each of us, potentially, a victim of torture — as well as a torturer. The qualities of character needed for one person to inflict unimaginable cruelty upon another cannot sit easily with our concept of a good character. A torture-justifier would indeed commit atrocities, where necessary, to save us, but only if we belong to a large enough number of potential victims. The minimal absolutist, in contrast, would always do anything humanly possible to save innocent lives.
Yuval Ginbar
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199540914
- eISBN:
- 9780191716256
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199540914.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter introduces Part II, examining the ticking bomb question as one of public, practical, morality in the real world, namely whether it is morally justifiable for democratic states facing ...
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This chapter introduces Part II, examining the ticking bomb question as one of public, practical, morality in the real world, namely whether it is morally justifiable for democratic states facing terrorism to torture in order to save many innocent lives. It outlines the parameters for discussing the question. Part II is to first address the question of whether transferring the ‘torture in a ticking bomb situation’ (TBS) moral dilemma from the private to the public sphere in itself entails a different moral solution. Secondly, the question is to be addressed of whether — accepting arguendo that torture in this situation is morally justified — states can torture in TBSs while limiting both torture and its direct and indirect harm to a morally acceptable level, or else must slide down an inevitable, and intolerable ‘slippery slope’. ‘Slippery surface’ dangers unique to the public sphere are also discussed.Less
This chapter introduces Part II, examining the ticking bomb question as one of public, practical, morality in the real world, namely whether it is morally justifiable for democratic states facing terrorism to torture in order to save many innocent lives. It outlines the parameters for discussing the question. Part II is to first address the question of whether transferring the ‘torture in a ticking bomb situation’ (TBS) moral dilemma from the private to the public sphere in itself entails a different moral solution. Secondly, the question is to be addressed of whether — accepting arguendo that torture in this situation is morally justified — states can torture in TBSs while limiting both torture and its direct and indirect harm to a morally acceptable level, or else must slide down an inevitable, and intolerable ‘slippery slope’. ‘Slippery surface’ dangers unique to the public sphere are also discussed.
Lynne Dale Halamish and Doron Hermoni
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- November 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195325379
- eISBN:
- 9780199999811
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195325379.003.0011
- Subject:
- Palliative Care, Patient Care and End-of-Life Decision Making, Palliative Medicine and Older People
This chapter focuses on individuals dealing with the worst kind of death of loved ones. It discusses the difference between losing a parent and losing a child, and describes the case of a 15-year-old ...
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This chapter focuses on individuals dealing with the worst kind of death of loved ones. It discusses the difference between losing a parent and losing a child, and describes the case of a 15-year-old boy named Joel who lost his entire family in a terrorist bombing. The chapter explains that grieving in situations such as this takes a long time and suggests that although one person's grief can be compared with another's, it is important not to forget the specific situation of the person one is talking to.Less
This chapter focuses on individuals dealing with the worst kind of death of loved ones. It discusses the difference between losing a parent and losing a child, and describes the case of a 15-year-old boy named Joel who lost his entire family in a terrorist bombing. The chapter explains that grieving in situations such as this takes a long time and suggests that although one person's grief can be compared with another's, it is important not to forget the specific situation of the person one is talking to.
The Independent International Commission on Kosovo
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199243099
- eISBN:
- 9780191599538
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199243093.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Discusses the aims and the conduct of the NATO bombing campaign against the Yugoslavia; the refugee crisis and civilian casualties of the campaign; and the diplomatic events leading to the final ...
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Discusses the aims and the conduct of the NATO bombing campaign against the Yugoslavia; the refugee crisis and civilian casualties of the campaign; and the diplomatic events leading to the final peace agreement. The chapter argues that the NATO campaign did not itself provoke Serbian military's attacks on Kosovo civilians, but that the intervention and the removal of ground monitors may have created an internal environment that made Belgrade government's cleansing operation feasible. The chapter concludes that the intervention failed to achieve its avowed aim of preventing massive ethnic cleansing, that the Kosovar Albanian population had to endure tremendous suffering before finally achieving their freedom and that Milosevic remained in power, however, as an indicted war criminal.Less
Discusses the aims and the conduct of the NATO bombing campaign against the Yugoslavia; the refugee crisis and civilian casualties of the campaign; and the diplomatic events leading to the final peace agreement. The chapter argues that the NATO campaign did not itself provoke Serbian military's attacks on Kosovo civilians, but that the intervention and the removal of ground monitors may have created an internal environment that made Belgrade government's cleansing operation feasible. The chapter concludes that the intervention failed to achieve its avowed aim of preventing massive ethnic cleansing, that the Kosovar Albanian population had to endure tremendous suffering before finally achieving their freedom and that Milosevic remained in power, however, as an indicted war criminal.
John O. Voll
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195323405
- eISBN:
- 9780199869237
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195323405.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Sikhism
In a globalizing world, members of the same religious community, anchored in different parts of the world, have greater capacity to increase their cultural, social, and economic links with one ...
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In a globalizing world, members of the same religious community, anchored in different parts of the world, have greater capacity to increase their cultural, social, and economic links with one another. Ironically, this chapter points out how the rise of religious pluralism amid globalization has also strengthened the hand of Muslim leaders such as Osama Bin Laden, intent on destroying pluralism altogether. Al-Qaeda preaches peace but glorifies violence. Bin Laden’s view that violent jihad is an obligation on individual believers isolates him from leading Muslim scholars and jurists. Still, he has been able to gather and hold a sizable following, through dramatic actions, but also through the very same communications technologies that drive religious pluralism and create soft power in world affairs.Less
In a globalizing world, members of the same religious community, anchored in different parts of the world, have greater capacity to increase their cultural, social, and economic links with one another. Ironically, this chapter points out how the rise of religious pluralism amid globalization has also strengthened the hand of Muslim leaders such as Osama Bin Laden, intent on destroying pluralism altogether. Al-Qaeda preaches peace but glorifies violence. Bin Laden’s view that violent jihad is an obligation on individual believers isolates him from leading Muslim scholars and jurists. Still, he has been able to gather and hold a sizable following, through dramatic actions, but also through the very same communications technologies that drive religious pluralism and create soft power in world affairs.
Robert Wuthnow
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199730872
- eISBN:
- 9780199777389
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199730872.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Be Very Afraid examines the human response to existential threats; once a matter for theology, but now looming before us in multiple forms. Nuclear weapons, pandemics, global warming; ...
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Be Very Afraid examines the human response to existential threats; once a matter for theology, but now looming before us in multiple forms. Nuclear weapons, pandemics, global warming; each threatens to destroy the planet, or at least to annihilate our species. Freud, the author notes, famously taught that the standard psychological response to an overwhelming danger is denial. In fact, the author writes, the opposite is true: we seek ways of positively meeting the threat, of doing something — anything — even if it is wasteful and time-consuming. The atomic era that began with the bombing of Hiroshima sparked a flurry of activity, ranging from duck-and-cover drills, basement bomb shelters, and marches for a nuclear freeze. All were arguably ineffectual, yet each sprang from an innate desire to take action. It would be one thing if our responses were merely pointless, the book observes, but they can actually be harmful. Both the public and policymakers tend to model reactions to grave threats on how we met previous ones. The response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, for example, echoed the Cold War: citizens went out to buy duct tape, mimicking 1950s-era civil defense measures, and the administration launched two costly conflicts overseas.Less
Be Very Afraid examines the human response to existential threats; once a matter for theology, but now looming before us in multiple forms. Nuclear weapons, pandemics, global warming; each threatens to destroy the planet, or at least to annihilate our species. Freud, the author notes, famously taught that the standard psychological response to an overwhelming danger is denial. In fact, the author writes, the opposite is true: we seek ways of positively meeting the threat, of doing something — anything — even if it is wasteful and time-consuming. The atomic era that began with the bombing of Hiroshima sparked a flurry of activity, ranging from duck-and-cover drills, basement bomb shelters, and marches for a nuclear freeze. All were arguably ineffectual, yet each sprang from an innate desire to take action. It would be one thing if our responses were merely pointless, the book observes, but they can actually be harmful. Both the public and policymakers tend to model reactions to grave threats on how we met previous ones. The response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, for example, echoed the Cold War: citizens went out to buy duct tape, mimicking 1950s-era civil defense measures, and the administration launched two costly conflicts overseas.
John R. B. Lighton
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195310610
- eISBN:
- 9780199871414
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195310610.003.0006
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology, Biotechnology
This chapter describes calorimetry or the direct measurement of heat production, a technique first used by Lavoisier and Paulze for measuring metabolic rates. Bomb calorimetry — a technique for ...
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This chapter describes calorimetry or the direct measurement of heat production, a technique first used by Lavoisier and Paulze for measuring metabolic rates. Bomb calorimetry — a technique for measuring the energy content of foods and other materials — is also described. The two most common applications of direct calorimetry — gradient and differential calorimetry — are analyzed. Methods for combining direct calorimetry with indirect calorimetry (or respirometry) and the compensating calculations that are required, are presented, together with a brief description of a basic direct calorimeter for small mammals that can be made from inexpensive and commonly available materials.Less
This chapter describes calorimetry or the direct measurement of heat production, a technique first used by Lavoisier and Paulze for measuring metabolic rates. Bomb calorimetry — a technique for measuring the energy content of foods and other materials — is also described. The two most common applications of direct calorimetry — gradient and differential calorimetry — are analyzed. Methods for combining direct calorimetry with indirect calorimetry (or respirometry) and the compensating calculations that are required, are presented, together with a brief description of a basic direct calorimeter for small mammals that can be made from inexpensive and commonly available materials.
Helena Waddy
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195371277
- eISBN:
- 9780199777341
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195371277.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Chapter Seven begins with Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939. The First Mountain Division’s Signal Corps occupied new barracks in Oberammergau and recruited locals who served in France, on the ...
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Chapter Seven begins with Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939. The First Mountain Division’s Signal Corps occupied new barracks in Oberammergau and recruited locals who served in France, on the eastern front, and in the Balkans, where divisional units were implicated in massacres, including one featured in the book and movie Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. World War II brought a leadership shift to a ruling Nazi who was a democratically elected holdover from the Weimar Republic. He served an overcrowded and socially tense village population as evacuees arrived from bombed cities all over Germany. Intrusive Nazi officials relocated a Messerschmitt plant staffed by thousands of zealous Nazi workers and forced foreign laborers housed in a special camp. As bombing fleets roared overhead in 1944, the mayor drew strength from his identity as a Passion player to protect downed Americans from active Nazis seeking retribution.Less
Chapter Seven begins with Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939. The First Mountain Division’s Signal Corps occupied new barracks in Oberammergau and recruited locals who served in France, on the eastern front, and in the Balkans, where divisional units were implicated in massacres, including one featured in the book and movie Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. World War II brought a leadership shift to a ruling Nazi who was a democratically elected holdover from the Weimar Republic. He served an overcrowded and socially tense village population as evacuees arrived from bombed cities all over Germany. Intrusive Nazi officials relocated a Messerschmitt plant staffed by thousands of zealous Nazi workers and forced foreign laborers housed in a special camp. As bombing fleets roared overhead in 1944, the mayor drew strength from his identity as a Passion player to protect downed Americans from active Nazis seeking retribution.
Robbie Lieberman
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265390
- eISBN:
- 9780191760440
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265390.003.0010
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
At the height of the McCarthy era, a period that marked the low point of both communism and peace activism in the United States, the communist left continued to promote its ideas about peace through ...
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At the height of the McCarthy era, a period that marked the low point of both communism and peace activism in the United States, the communist left continued to promote its ideas about peace through song. Beginning with the Progressive party campaign of 1948, communists and their supporters sang their opposition to U.S. Cold War policies and promoted brotherhood among men, usually in those (male) terms. Intense anticommunism limited the impact of songs written and disseminated by ‘people's artists’ in the early Cold War years. Nonetheless, their work had an impact in the long run despite the repressive era in which they sang. Through hootenannies and records, and in the pages of publications such as Sing Out!they kept alive a movement culture that influenced the next generation of musicians, whose peace songs reached a popular audience in the 1960s.Less
At the height of the McCarthy era, a period that marked the low point of both communism and peace activism in the United States, the communist left continued to promote its ideas about peace through song. Beginning with the Progressive party campaign of 1948, communists and their supporters sang their opposition to U.S. Cold War policies and promoted brotherhood among men, usually in those (male) terms. Intense anticommunism limited the impact of songs written and disseminated by ‘people's artists’ in the early Cold War years. Nonetheless, their work had an impact in the long run despite the repressive era in which they sang. Through hootenannies and records, and in the pages of publications such as Sing Out!they kept alive a movement culture that influenced the next generation of musicians, whose peace songs reached a popular audience in the 1960s.
Yuki Miyamoto
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780823240500
- eISBN:
- 9780823240548
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823240500.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature
This monograph explores the ethics and religious sensibilities of a group of the hibakusha (survivors) of 1945's atomic bombings. Although the atomic bombings of 1945 have been studied from the ...
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This monograph explores the ethics and religious sensibilities of a group of the hibakusha (survivors) of 1945's atomic bombings. Although the atomic bombings of 1945 have been studied from the points of view of various disciplines, the survivors' ethic—not retaliation, but reconciliation—emerging from their experiences and supported by their religious sensibilities, has never been addressed sufficiently in academic discourse. Rather their ethic has been excluded from the atomic bomb discourse or nuclear ethics. In examining Hiroshima city's “secular” commemoration, Hiroshima's True Pure Land Buddhist understanding, and Nagasaki's Roman Catholic tradition, I argue that the hibakusha's ethic and philosophy, based upon critical self-reflection, could offer resources for the constructing ethics based upon memories, especially in the post-9–11 world. Thus, this monograph, responding to this lacuna in scholarship, invites readers to go beyond the mushroom cloud where they encounter actual hibakusha's ethical thoughts.Less
This monograph explores the ethics and religious sensibilities of a group of the hibakusha (survivors) of 1945's atomic bombings. Although the atomic bombings of 1945 have been studied from the points of view of various disciplines, the survivors' ethic—not retaliation, but reconciliation—emerging from their experiences and supported by their religious sensibilities, has never been addressed sufficiently in academic discourse. Rather their ethic has been excluded from the atomic bomb discourse or nuclear ethics. In examining Hiroshima city's “secular” commemoration, Hiroshima's True Pure Land Buddhist understanding, and Nagasaki's Roman Catholic tradition, I argue that the hibakusha's ethic and philosophy, based upon critical self-reflection, could offer resources for the constructing ethics based upon memories, especially in the post-9–11 world. Thus, this monograph, responding to this lacuna in scholarship, invites readers to go beyond the mushroom cloud where they encounter actual hibakusha's ethical thoughts.
John W. Young
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198203674
- eISBN:
- 9780191675942
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198203674.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter discusses the Berlin conference, the East-West Trade, and the debate about the H-bomb. It looks at the Berlin conference, which managed to come to its predicted conclusion without ...
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This chapter discusses the Berlin conference, the East-West Trade, and the debate about the H-bomb. It looks at the Berlin conference, which managed to come to its predicted conclusion without upsetting the Germans or the French. The chapter then shows that the East-West trade was initially refused by the Americans, but the Europeans pointed out that it would be able to provide important commodities such as timber and grain, while allowing them to minimize the need for dollars. The chapter also highlights Winston Churchill's concerns over the dangers of a nuclear conflagration, which was caused by the debate on the hydrogen bomb or H-bomb.Less
This chapter discusses the Berlin conference, the East-West Trade, and the debate about the H-bomb. It looks at the Berlin conference, which managed to come to its predicted conclusion without upsetting the Germans or the French. The chapter then shows that the East-West trade was initially refused by the Americans, but the Europeans pointed out that it would be able to provide important commodities such as timber and grain, while allowing them to minimize the need for dollars. The chapter also highlights Winston Churchill's concerns over the dangers of a nuclear conflagration, which was caused by the debate on the hydrogen bomb or H-bomb.
John W. Young
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198203674
- eISBN:
- 9780191675942
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198203674.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter discusses Churchill's decision to preside over a ‘fag-end administration’, after Eden's refusal to bequeath it. It discusses the fall of Malenkov, the second debate about the hydrogen ...
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This chapter discusses Churchill's decision to preside over a ‘fag-end administration’, after Eden's refusal to bequeath it. It discusses the fall of Malenkov, the second debate about the hydrogen bomb (H-Bomb), and the last few bids for détente. It also highlights the irony that shortly after Winston Churchill retired, the idea of a summit, which he had long hoped for, finally drew close to realization.Less
This chapter discusses Churchill's decision to preside over a ‘fag-end administration’, after Eden's refusal to bequeath it. It discusses the fall of Malenkov, the second debate about the hydrogen bomb (H-Bomb), and the last few bids for détente. It also highlights the irony that shortly after Winston Churchill retired, the idea of a summit, which he had long hoped for, finally drew close to realization.
Dee Garrison
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195183191
- eISBN:
- 9780199788804
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195183191.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This prologue outlines how the advent of hydrogen weapons transformed the practice of war. It explains why modern nuclear weapons cannot be compared with those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It ...
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This prologue outlines how the advent of hydrogen weapons transformed the practice of war. It explains why modern nuclear weapons cannot be compared with those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It then discusses the effects of a nuclear explosion and life after a nuclear war.Less
This prologue outlines how the advent of hydrogen weapons transformed the practice of war. It explains why modern nuclear weapons cannot be compared with those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It then discusses the effects of a nuclear explosion and life after a nuclear war.
Alia Brahimi
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199562961
- eISBN:
- 9780191595059
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562961.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory, International Relations and Politics
In the 1990s, Osama bin Laden observed proudly that the Afghan jihad against the Russians was unstained by the blood of innocents. Yet, since 1993, civilians have been al‐Qaeda's chosen targets. This ...
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In the 1990s, Osama bin Laden observed proudly that the Afghan jihad against the Russians was unstained by the blood of innocents. Yet, since 1993, civilians have been al‐Qaeda's chosen targets. This chapter explores issues raised by al‐Qaeda's conduct during its war against the United States in the light of Islamic ideas about jus in bello. The first section of this chapter briefly introduces the jus in bello tradition in Islam. The second section discusses the legitimacy of suicide attacks and the place of martyrdom in the Islamic tradition. The final section examines bin Laden's attempts to overturn the robust Islamic protections for civilians in war. Bin Laden himself subscribes to the principle of non‐combatant immunity and employs it in levelling virulent criticism against the US's policies—yet his acceptance of the principle leads him into an unclear and uncomfortable moral position with regard to al‐Qaeda's attacks.Less
In the 1990s, Osama bin Laden observed proudly that the Afghan jihad against the Russians was unstained by the blood of innocents. Yet, since 1993, civilians have been al‐Qaeda's chosen targets. This chapter explores issues raised by al‐Qaeda's conduct during its war against the United States in the light of Islamic ideas about jus in bello. The first section of this chapter briefly introduces the jus in bello tradition in Islam. The second section discusses the legitimacy of suicide attacks and the place of martyrdom in the Islamic tradition. The final section examines bin Laden's attempts to overturn the robust Islamic protections for civilians in war. Bin Laden himself subscribes to the principle of non‐combatant immunity and employs it in levelling virulent criticism against the US's policies—yet his acceptance of the principle leads him into an unclear and uncomfortable moral position with regard to al‐Qaeda's attacks.
Steven Casey
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195306927
- eISBN:
- 9780199867936
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195306927.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
The massive Chinese intervention in the Korean War in late November 1950 created a new sense of crisis in Washington. Attempting to learn from the mistakes they had made in June, senior officials ...
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The massive Chinese intervention in the Korean War in late November 1950 created a new sense of crisis in Washington. Attempting to learn from the mistakes they had made in June, senior officials tried to provide a more forceful lead, reaching out to figures from across the political spectrum in order to foster a new sense of unity. But, initially at least, the administration's public efforts were little short of disastrous. The military situation was partly to blame. With events in Korea so murky, officials were unable to provide a clear sense of the scale of the defeat. In Tokyo, MacArthur soon stepped into the vacuum, issuing a string of statements that suggested a major catastrophe was in the cards. In Washington, Truman compounded matters when he told reporters that the A‐bomb was “under active consideration,” a phrase that suggested Korea was about to escalate in a truly terrifying fashion.Less
The massive Chinese intervention in the Korean War in late November 1950 created a new sense of crisis in Washington. Attempting to learn from the mistakes they had made in June, senior officials tried to provide a more forceful lead, reaching out to figures from across the political spectrum in order to foster a new sense of unity. But, initially at least, the administration's public efforts were little short of disastrous. The military situation was partly to blame. With events in Korea so murky, officials were unable to provide a clear sense of the scale of the defeat. In Tokyo, MacArthur soon stepped into the vacuum, issuing a string of statements that suggested a major catastrophe was in the cards. In Washington, Truman compounded matters when he told reporters that the A‐bomb was “under active consideration,” a phrase that suggested Korea was about to escalate in a truly terrifying fashion.
Patricia Owens
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199299362
- eISBN:
- 9780191715051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199299362.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory, International Relations and Politics
This chapter addresses Arendt's method of thinking about politics and war. It was a fundamental conviction that the most significant changes in social and political life could not be understood ...
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This chapter addresses Arendt's method of thinking about politics and war. It was a fundamental conviction that the most significant changes in social and political life could not be understood through the projection of continuous historical laws. It was the nature of both politics and war to bring about the unexpected. Inspired, in part, by the tradition of historiography that emerged out of the realist writing of Homer and Thucydides, Arendt argued that it was essential to divorce the meaning of events from our ethical judgement of them. We should and do make ethical judgements. The difference is that we must also pay attention to the distinctly political criteria for judging action, which Arendt believed to be greatness. This understanding of the history of war and forms of agency in wartime is illustrated with the case of suicide bombing. ‘Who’, if anyone, is revealed in such acts?Less
This chapter addresses Arendt's method of thinking about politics and war. It was a fundamental conviction that the most significant changes in social and political life could not be understood through the projection of continuous historical laws. It was the nature of both politics and war to bring about the unexpected. Inspired, in part, by the tradition of historiography that emerged out of the realist writing of Homer and Thucydides, Arendt argued that it was essential to divorce the meaning of events from our ethical judgement of them. We should and do make ethical judgements. The difference is that we must also pay attention to the distinctly political criteria for judging action, which Arendt believed to be greatness. This understanding of the history of war and forms of agency in wartime is illustrated with the case of suicide bombing. ‘Who’, if anyone, is revealed in such acts?
Ken Young and Warner R. Chilling
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781501745164
- eISBN:
- 9781501745171
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501745164.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
This book unveils the story of the events leading up to President Harry S. Truman's 1950 decision to develop a “super,” or hydrogen, bomb. That fateful decision and its immediate consequences are ...
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This book unveils the story of the events leading up to President Harry S. Truman's 1950 decision to develop a “super,” or hydrogen, bomb. That fateful decision and its immediate consequences are detailed in a diverse and complete account built on newly released archives and previously hidden contemporaneous interviews with more than sixty political, military, and scientific figures who were involved in the decision. The book presents the expectations, hopes, and fears of the key individuals who lobbied for and against developing the H-bomb. It portrays the conflicts that arose over the H-bomb as rooted in the distinct interests of the Atomic Energy Commission, the Los Alamos laboratory, the Pentagon and State Department, the Congress, and the White House. But as the book clearly shows, once Truman made his decision in 1950, resistance to the H-bomb opportunistically shifted to new debates about the development of tactical nuclear weapons, continental air defense, and other aspects of nuclear weapons policy. What the book reveals is that in many ways the H-bomb struggle was a proxy battle over the morality and effectiveness of strategic bombardment and the role and doctrine of the U.S. Strategic Air Command.Less
This book unveils the story of the events leading up to President Harry S. Truman's 1950 decision to develop a “super,” or hydrogen, bomb. That fateful decision and its immediate consequences are detailed in a diverse and complete account built on newly released archives and previously hidden contemporaneous interviews with more than sixty political, military, and scientific figures who were involved in the decision. The book presents the expectations, hopes, and fears of the key individuals who lobbied for and against developing the H-bomb. It portrays the conflicts that arose over the H-bomb as rooted in the distinct interests of the Atomic Energy Commission, the Los Alamos laboratory, the Pentagon and State Department, the Congress, and the White House. But as the book clearly shows, once Truman made his decision in 1950, resistance to the H-bomb opportunistically shifted to new debates about the development of tactical nuclear weapons, continental air defense, and other aspects of nuclear weapons policy. What the book reveals is that in many ways the H-bomb struggle was a proxy battle over the morality and effectiveness of strategic bombardment and the role and doctrine of the U.S. Strategic Air Command.
Santanu Das and Kate McLoughlin (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780197266267
- eISBN:
- 9780191869198
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266267.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
Literary and cultural-historical debate about the First World War has focused on whether the conflict inaugurated a new modernity (in Paul Fussell’s terms, a specifically ironic consciousness) or ...
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Literary and cultural-historical debate about the First World War has focused on whether the conflict inaugurated a new modernity (in Paul Fussell’s terms, a specifically ironic consciousness) or whether it revealed deep continuities, particularly in the area of memorialization. The debate can productively be widened by expanding the scope of critical attention to include, not only English trench poetry, but also the creative production of women, non-combatants, civilians, and writers and artists from Europe and the then British Empire. This enlarged canon, which in this book ranges from the British combatant poets Wilfred Owen and David Jones to the writers and nurses Mary Borden and Enid Bagnold, the civilian novelists H. G. Wells and Virginia Woolf, and the international authors Robert Service, Berta Lask, Claire Studer Goll, Ricarda Huch, Gertrud Kolmar, Anna Akhmatova and Rabindranath Tagore, enables us to rethink the very meanings of terms such as ‘modernity’ and ‘modernism’. Literature itself is illuminated through juxtaposition with film, photography and fine art. Three areas in particular reveal the ways in which literature, culture and the war coalesce in a putative modernity: the unfathomable, intensity and ‘cosmopolitanism’. These emerge via investigation of issues such as shellshock, sacrifice, death, aerial bombing, resistance, empire and race.Less
Literary and cultural-historical debate about the First World War has focused on whether the conflict inaugurated a new modernity (in Paul Fussell’s terms, a specifically ironic consciousness) or whether it revealed deep continuities, particularly in the area of memorialization. The debate can productively be widened by expanding the scope of critical attention to include, not only English trench poetry, but also the creative production of women, non-combatants, civilians, and writers and artists from Europe and the then British Empire. This enlarged canon, which in this book ranges from the British combatant poets Wilfred Owen and David Jones to the writers and nurses Mary Borden and Enid Bagnold, the civilian novelists H. G. Wells and Virginia Woolf, and the international authors Robert Service, Berta Lask, Claire Studer Goll, Ricarda Huch, Gertrud Kolmar, Anna Akhmatova and Rabindranath Tagore, enables us to rethink the very meanings of terms such as ‘modernity’ and ‘modernism’. Literature itself is illuminated through juxtaposition with film, photography and fine art. Three areas in particular reveal the ways in which literature, culture and the war coalesce in a putative modernity: the unfathomable, intensity and ‘cosmopolitanism’. These emerge via investigation of issues such as shellshock, sacrifice, death, aerial bombing, resistance, empire and race.
Neville Wylie
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198206903
- eISBN:
- 9780191717338
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206903.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, European Modern History
This is the first comprehensive study of British policy towards Switzerland during the Second World War. Switzerland occupied an ambiguous place in British belligerency. While epitomizing the kind of ...
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This is the first comprehensive study of British policy towards Switzerland during the Second World War. Switzerland occupied an ambiguous place in British belligerency. While epitomizing the kind of political values Britain claimed to uphold in declaring war against Nazi Germany in 1939, its inexorable drift into the Axis orbit after mid-1940 inevitably prevented British officials from isolating Anglo-Swiss relations from Britain's broader diplomatic and strategic objectives. The book situates British policy towards Switzerland within the history of the British blockade and financial warfare campaign, the Holocaust, Anglo-American relations, and the Allied strategic bombing offensive. It argues that Britain was more successful in benefiting from Swiss neutrality than has hitherto been assumed, especially in the acquisition of manufactured goods, secret intelligence and humanitarian services. London retained a stake in the maintenance of Swiss neutrality long after the severance of direct communications in June 1940. At base, however, British policy was shaped by a set of entrenched beliefs about Switzerland and Swiss neutrality that proved resistant to change, despite the growing evidence of Swiss-German economic and financial collaboration. British policy towards Switzerland rested on a view of Swiss neutrality that was forged as much from the preconceptions of British officials as from a dispassionate reading of Switzerland's place in the war.Less
This is the first comprehensive study of British policy towards Switzerland during the Second World War. Switzerland occupied an ambiguous place in British belligerency. While epitomizing the kind of political values Britain claimed to uphold in declaring war against Nazi Germany in 1939, its inexorable drift into the Axis orbit after mid-1940 inevitably prevented British officials from isolating Anglo-Swiss relations from Britain's broader diplomatic and strategic objectives. The book situates British policy towards Switzerland within the history of the British blockade and financial warfare campaign, the Holocaust, Anglo-American relations, and the Allied strategic bombing offensive. It argues that Britain was more successful in benefiting from Swiss neutrality than has hitherto been assumed, especially in the acquisition of manufactured goods, secret intelligence and humanitarian services. London retained a stake in the maintenance of Swiss neutrality long after the severance of direct communications in June 1940. At base, however, British policy was shaped by a set of entrenched beliefs about Switzerland and Swiss neutrality that proved resistant to change, despite the growing evidence of Swiss-German economic and financial collaboration. British policy towards Switzerland rested on a view of Swiss neutrality that was forged as much from the preconceptions of British officials as from a dispassionate reading of Switzerland's place in the war.
