Numerous gloomy predictions have been made by pundits,
journalists and religious leaders about the conduct and effects of
a U.S.-led war against Iraq. Critics said that war would devastate
Iraq's infrastructure, making it impossible to win the hearts and
minds of the Iraqi people. They speculated that Iraqi residents
would scorn American and British troops as invaders, not welcome
them as liberators. They predicted a humanitarian crisis, with
widespread shortages of food, water and medical care. And they
warned that American forces would kill massive numbers of
civilians, either intentionally or unintentionally.
In the end, they've argued that the fight to liberate Iraq is an
unjust war waged with unjust means to accomplish ambiguous
ends.
Each of the anti-war predictions, however, has so far proven
false. Indeed, it is difficult to recall any previous modern war
being fought with such a sustained effort to protect civilians from
combat and to minimize the harmful effects of war on their daily
lives. This has come about because of intensive military planning,
scrupulous attention to military targets, careful coordination
among Coalition forces and unprecedented cooperation between the
U.S. government, military and non-governmental relief
organizations.
A Case Study in Protecting Civilians
in War Time
Military historians already are pointing to the success of the
Iraqi Freedom campaign as a likely object of study in war colleges:
its use of air power, the mobility of its ground forces, its
success in urban combat, etc. Underlying and shaping these military
accomplishments, however, is the Western moral tradition. Perhaps
more than any other single factor, the Christian "just war"
tradition has defined the scope and style of Coalition engagement.
At the heart of that tradition is the obligation to use all
reasonable means to protect innocent lives from the ravages of
war.
Those concerned about the requirements for fighting a just war
should reflect on some of the most significant lessons of
engagement from Operation Iraqi Freedom:
- Putting relief organizations in position:
Five months prior to the outbreak of war, emergency relief
organizations began moving into the region, thanks to coordination
between the U.S. State Department, Coalition forces and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs). "We have assembled the
largest Disaster Assistance Response Team…ever in U.S.
history," says Andrew Natsios, administrator of the U.S. Agency for
International Development. The pre-positioning of assistance is
proving vital to the humanitarian relief effort.
- Delivering humanitarian aid:
Within days after the start of the conflict, food, water and
medical supplies began arriving in southern Iraq. Thousands of tons
of assistance already have been delivered, with significant help
from Coalition forces. Though AID officials describe "pockets of
humanitarian need" in Iraq, no NGOs are reporting a humanitarian
crisis.
- Protecting the nation's infrastructure:
Coalition forces moved rapidly to secure the Iraqi oil fields,
while bombing raids have avoided bridges, power facilities, water
treatment centers and other infrastructure essential to resident
populations. The military has been careful to avoid confrontation
with religious leaders and to respect mosques and other religious
sites-even when they've been used by Iraqi soldiers to hide weapons
and troops.
- Precision bombing to avoid civilian casualties:
Unlike in any previous war, satellite-guided bombs are now carried
by almost all U.S. Navy and Air Force fighters. Combined with
real-time radar and targeting systems such as the JSTARS radar
plane, these "smart bombs" allow Coalition aircraft to destroy even
"hard targets" from a safe altitude with pinpoint precision. Though
no reliable figures are available, there have been only a handful
of undisputed reports of civilian casualties as a result of
Coalition bombing.
- Protection of civilians during combat:
American and British forces have avoided engaging Iraqi troops
reportedly attempting to use civilians as human shields. Coalition
forces also have put their own lives at risk to get civilians out
of harm's way. Last week, for example, most major news networks
showed images of U.S. Army forces rescuing an injured Iraqi woman
caught in the crossfire on a bridge at Hindiyah.
- Humane treatment of POWs:
Even with thousands of captured Iraqi troops, Coalition forces are
reportedly upholding all Geneva Convention protocols for the
treatment of POWs. According to news reports, between 60 and 80
percent of all casualties so far have been Iraqis, who are
receiving medical care right alongside injured Coalition
forces.
A Study in Contrasts
The contrast between the conduct of the U.S.-led military and
that of Saddam Hussein could not be more stark. It has been widely
reported that the Iraqi military is violating the moral norms of
combat, including: using women and children as human shields;
placing military equipment in schools, playgrounds and mosques;
executing family members for refusing to offer their sons for
suicide attacks; dressing as civilians to ambush Coalition forces;
feigning surrenders to open fire on Coalition troops; and
mistreating and possibly executing POWs.
The Iraqi tactics represent a violation of the 1949 Geneva
Convention, to which it is a signatory, and are serious war crimes.
Their use of civilians as human shields and agents in suicide
missions puts all civilians at risk: By tearing down the visible
differences between soldiers and noncombatants, the Iraqis are
violating one of the most basic moral principles in wartime:
Civilians must not become targets of military action.
Nevertheless, the U.S.-led coalition has not responded in kind.
It continues to uphold the Geneva Convention in its conduct of the
war. American and British military forces have focused intently on
Iraqi military targets, held their fire in the face of unwilling
"human shields," rescued Iraqi civilians from enemy fire and made
possible a massive program of humanitarian assistance. Military
historians may soon identify Operation Iraqi Freedom as the most
justly fought war in the history of modern warfare.