What is the place of morality in modern day armed forces?
Re: Modern Military and Morality
none..........
never was...never will be.
only thing that has 'modernised' is the public relationing part of it or propaganda as you may call it.
Re: Modern Military and Morality
none..........
never was...never will be.
only thing that has 'modernised' is the public relationing part of it or propaganda as you may call it.
hmmm...I find it interesting that in his book A History of Bombing, Sven Lindqvist stated Imam Abu Hanifa being the first man in history to codify the humane rules of war, but even in armies of Muslim countries we don't see this in practice.
Why there's this unethical pattern of behaviour exists in modern warfare?
Re: Modern Military and Morality
Could it be due to the internationalization and globalization of societies and education as part of the agenda of the One World Government?
Re: Modern Military and Morality
NO
Re: Modern Military and Morality
I'm not sure I understand the question. Morality as in rules of engagement? Or morality of the individual in how they conduct themselves and how they interact with others? I think that morality, as far as discipline is concerned, could be integrated in a modern army. However, personal conduct, beliefs and practices should be left to the individual as long as they don't interfere with discipline.
Re: Modern Military and Morality
^I'm talking about ethics in rules of war and morality in conduct of individuals in an army. I know international humanitarian laws prohibit war crimes like torture, attack on civilians and use of lethal weapons but despite of the laws in place we've seen awful brutality by military. Disciplining an individual is very different to instilling morality and value and sanctity of life in someone's heart.
Re: Modern Military and Morality
What is the place of morality in modern day armed forces?
Morality is a public relations exercise for a sensitive general public. Military training, for 100 years, has been designed to break down the humanity in recruits and rebuild them as killers who hate their enemy.
Every modern military that has made major deployments ends up committing some form of war crime because that hate cannot be kept under control all of the time.
Re: Modern Military and Morality
So what is man's natural inclination? Is he a brutish and violent as suggested by some philosophers or is he essentially good and compassionate as suggested by the other school of thought?
I ask this, because if a person needs to be "reconditioned" then on his own, he would arguably be moral and just even in times of war. It is society that encourages barbarism and the lack of compassion to accomplish it's own ends.
Re: Modern Military and Morality
I ask this, because if a person needs to be "reconditioned" then on his own, he would arguably be moral and just even in times of war. It is society that encourages barbarism and the lack of compassion to accomplish it's own ends.
Terrible people are needed to achieve terrible ends (such as winning a war). Man is generally good and resistant to the idea of killing someone else (obviously there are a minority of individuals in society who are murderously inclined).
To make a man kill another man, there are psychological hurdles to overcome, to make you hate your enemy enough to kill. Often religion can provide such motivation, through promising that it is virtuous to kill the other.
For a more secular society, or where you are expecting your soldiers to need to kill soldiers of the same religion, alternatives are needed. Modern military training has evolved to break down the moral barriers and replace them with an instinct to follow orders.
Morality is generally considered to be the responsibility of officers, who are the minority in any military force.
Re: Modern Military and Morality
Imam Abu Hanifa being the first man in history to codify the humane rules of war,
and what were they?
No civilian/no woman or child should be harmed! No green tree should be chopped/destroyed! ??
Re: Modern Military and Morality
and what were they?
No civilian/no woman or child should be harmed! No green tree should be chopped/destroyed! ??
Yes obviously the teaching of Islam regarding warfare, delivered to us through the Prophet (SAW) but the author most probably didn't know that.
Re: Modern Military and Morality
who's essay is this?
what grade level?
Re: Modern Military and Morality
who's essay is this?
what grade level?
haha...I bid goodbye to college a long time ago. It's just that some recent news and lectures I came through on internet made me question the mindset of modern military training groups.
Re: Modern Military and Morality
In all cultures morality is glorified. Kshatriyas were not supposed to attack from the back, not enter a combat when two soldiers are engaged, not attack an unarmed combatant etc. Who knows if such codes of conduct were followed.
Rather than focus on morality of the soldiers, I would question the morality of people who send other people's childredn to war. And those who incite along religious, national, cultural lines bear responsibility. The least immoral are the soldiers who are asked to serve years on end without much of a break. I wonder how they maintain their sanity.
If we want to have morality on the battlefield, we have to ask ourselves what are we doing as individuals to end wars. And if we are contributing to it, we are immoral.
Re: Modern Military and Morality
I read little bit of Salahuddin Ayyubi. A great warrior during the war of Crusades. I have great great respect for this man Salahuddin after when i read about him. To me, morality that Salahuddin showed is to be applaud for against the Crusaders.
Re: Modern Military and Morality
mongol were best at morality......
Re: Modern Military and Morality
I'm shocked at the assertions made by mAd_ScIeNtIsT
War to be won? ... It is better to not have war at all ... This is the foremost principle of ethics in warfare ...
Avoid war at every opportunity, but if it can't be avoided then ....
Gosh ... do you guys seriously not know this stuff?
The battles in early Islam proved the power of the ethical war ... The greatest war in my opinion is the Fatah of Makkah ... "A cakewalk" - Gaining of control with minimal disruption ...
... similar was the taking over of The Promised Land - twice ...
... Rules of engagement can be found from the habits of Sayyidina Ali (RA) ...
He used to:
a) Approach the leaders of the opposite camp
b) Give them an opportunity to become Muslim and hence become brothers
c) Give them an opportunity to be taken over by the Muslims and hence earn protection by Muslims.
c) If they refused then he used to give them an opportunity to leave the region
d) If they refused then he used to tell his foes to strike first (guess he wanted to be counted from amongst the defenders as opposed to from amongst the attackers)
e) Then if his foe was outclassed and ran he would allow them to run away
Otherwise ...
The horses on the battlefield have rights ... No aimless felling of trees ... no use of fire i.e. setting things on fire was prohibited ... many wars used cannon balls laced in blazing oils to maximise collateral damage ... collateral damage must be minimised by our principles ...
No rape ... of women or men ... captives were treated with respect ... Captives were freed if they showed no ongoing threat and if they taught the believers to read ... i.e. a way out of captivity must be offered to the captives ...
Re: Modern Military and Morality
did not know abt above rules of engagement - meant to add that is pretty cool