Saving Soldiers or Civilians?

Violence re-directed: due care and the moral challenge of casualty displacement warfare

“…27 In the aftermath of Vietnam, respect for non-combatant immunity grew among Western states, including the United States. 28 This commitment could be observed during the First Gulf War, a conflict in which both the doctrine and technology of the United States was reorientated to better align with civilian protection. 29 Non-combatant immunity was further prioritised by Western powers during the 1999 Operation Allied Force, waged by NATO members to halt the ethnic cleansing of Albanian Kosovars by Serbian forces.…”

“…After 6 months of fighting, the United States had suffered 'only' forty casualties, less than half of which were combat related. 66 Importantly, the force protection of the United States did not nullify the potency of Taliban violence. Instead, it seems to have incentivised a redirection, with more humanitarian aid workers and journalists targeted and killed (37) during the same period than US military and intelligence personnel.…”

“…84 Proponents of due care also recognise the value of combatant lives, and concede that limiting civilian harm should not entail too great a sacrifice for military forces. 85 Both factors apply to casualty displacement. We can imagine circumstances in which the force protection practiced by Western powers will foreseeably incentivise an intensification of civilian targeting by the enemy, but the 'cost' of such harm is deemed acceptable.…”

“…This is a longstanding challenge to the idea of due care and proponents concede that no specific figure can be pointed to as the upper limit of acceptable combatant risk. 88 Establishing this upper limit is even more fraught in the context of casualty displacement, given the fact that Western militaries are not directly responsibility for the violence in question.…”

“…This includes a difference in commitment to force protection and civilian protection on the battlefield. 3 Critically though, all Western states highly regard these twin-duties. The phenomenon of casualty displacement highlights the deep tension that exists between them; a tension that, at present, features most prominently in the warfare of Western powers.…”