The Just Warrior Ethos: A Response to Colonel Riza

In 2014, Colonel M. Shane Riza published an article in this journal arguing that remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) and robotic weapons threaten the US Air Force’s warrior ethos. Riza has clearly articulated the sentiments of one side of a vibrant debate within our service. This paper presents an alternative view; a view held by some who have experienced these new forms and tools of war, and who have wrestled with their implications first-hand. In this paper, we address some methodological concerns with Riza’s approach and then engage some misunderstandings about RPA’s relationship to military history and to risk. The second part of this paper takes a close look at some of the early Just War thinkers to determine what implications the tradition may have on the warrior ethos. We propose, as an alternative to Riza’s position, a return to an ethos grounded in humility, charity, and a conception of war as a last resort; in short, a return to the Just Warrior Ethos.     

In Defense of Mercy

ABSTRACT

Though it is legally permissible to kill combatants in war, unless they are rendered hors de combat, the existence of “Naked Soldiers” raises an important moral question: should combatants kill vulnerable enemy combatants or show mercy towards them? Most philosophers who address this question argue that it is morally permissible to kill the Naked Soldier given the extended notion of self-defense during war. They ground their arguments in a form of collectivism. In this article, I use Larry May’s argument. He offers an approach that extends the principle of discrimination that would apply also to combatants. Instead of assuming all combatants are de facto dangerous, this approach would allow for nuance in targeting the enemy and showing mercy when enemy combatants clearly pose no danger, in other words, when they are Naked Soldiers. I defend this view against two criticisms: Noam Zohar’s view of armies as complex collectives and Stephen Deakin’s view that a policy that spares Naked Soldiers would be open to abuse. I argue that it is not only morally suspect to kill Naked Soldiers, but also it is within the spirit of both international laws governing war and the just war tradition to offer mercy whenever possible.     

Risk,War, and the Dangers of Soldier Identity

The profession of arms is distinct from other professions for many reasons. One reason which is not so obvious is that, unlike members of other professions, soldiers may go their entire careers preparing for a day that never arrives. All things considered, we should think this to be a very good thing. For soldiers, however, this can feel somewhat odd, since there is a natural desire to want to feel useful and to see one’s role and purpose find realization. Accordingly, the common soldier is forced to adopt a rather paradoxical mindset, one of longing for peace, and therefore for uselessness, while at the same time longing to be useful, which would entail that there be a war. This latter desire to be useful and to vindicate one’s identity as a soldier can sometimes take on an unhealthy life of its own. The pull of wanting too strongly to live up to a warrior identity, I argue, can sometimes skew a soldier’s ability to assess risk rationally. This article will therefore investigate how a soldier’s concept of self influences his or her overall capacity to evaluate risk in war and when such influence might become morally problematic.     

熵权正负理想方案灰色关联法的对地攻击目标选择

针对攻击机对地攻击的目标选择问题,提出了目标攻击优先权的计算方法,将正负理想方案与灰色关联分析方法进行融合并引进熵权的思想为各项优先权赋值,避免了权值确定过于主观的问题,提出了一种目标选择的模型,为飞行员对地攻击目标选择提供了辅助决策,具有较高的实用性。仿真结果也说明了该方法的合理性。     

航母编队远程防空作战预警机巡逻区域大小设置

针对航母编队远程防空作战提供了一种预警机巡逻区域大小设置的优化方法。通过对航母编队防空区域划分,提出了大小设置的基本要求。以预警机平飞长度、转弯半径和巡逻速度作为影响因素,以目标发现概率、覆盖率和目标发现距离作为评价指标对试验结果进行直观分析,得到对评价指标影响最显著的因素为平飞长度,进而采用正交设计、变步长搜索迭代的方法得到巡逻空域大小的最优布置方案。     

Prospect theory and foreign policy decision-making: Underexposed issues,advancements, and ways forward

How much mileage can we get out of prospect theory to explain foreign policy decision-making? To answer this question, we first argue that risk as outcome uncertainty is the appropriate definition in prospect-theoretical applications. Then, we indicate that probability weighting—a crucial component of prospect theory—is typically ignored in such applications. We argue why this is problematic and suggest how to move forward. Next, we discuss how to establish the reference point in the face of outcomes in multiple dimensions, as is typically the case in foreign policy decision-making. Finally, we discuss what we have learnt regarding prospect theory’s scope conditions and the differences across individuals in the theory’s applicability. Overall, our contribution lies in identifying several underexposed or neglected issues (e.g., the definition of risk and probability weighting), in examining the advancements regarding prospect theory’s scope conditions, and in discussing avenues for further research.     

The Clausewitzian fallacy of absolute war

Clausewitz was much preoccupied with the apparent contradiction between real and absolute war. Why did war in history so rarely exhibit the extremes of violence and energy implied in the pure concept of war? Clausewitz’s commentators have usually followed him in thinking that this was a genuine problem in need of a solution, but I want to question that view. I will argue that Clausewitz did not have a coherent philosophy of absolute war, and therefore the contradiction he posited between real and absolute war was equally meaningless – as, too, was his effort to resolve it by claiming that some real wars approached or even attained the absolute form of war. The real problem was not the opposition of real and absolute war, but the self-contradictory theory of absolute war.     

反导作战指控系统对TBM毁伤效果评估*

初步研究了反导作战指控系统对于TBM毁伤效果评估的过程和依据。以动能杀伤器（KKV）为研究对象,首先分析了KKV脱靶量和杀伤模型,在此基础上,对反导指控系统对TBM的毁伤准则和毁伤效果评估进行了研究并给出了一般TBM毁伤判断流程,最后举例以KKV导引头作用距离和噪声对脱靶量的影响分析研究了达到直接碰撞杀伤的条件。     

Forces of heresy versus forces of conservation: making sense of Hezb-e Islami-ye Afghanistan’s and the Taleban’s positions in the Afghan insurgency

Ethnicity and ideology are frequently used to determine whether an armed group is hostile or friendly vis-à-vis the state. By contrast, I argue that the social structure of insurgent movements holds more explanatory power for their respective positions than ethnicity or ideology. To illustrate this, I apply Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of a contest between forces of ‘conservation’ and forces of ‘heresy’ to the current Afghanistan war. I demonstrate that the social structure of the Taleban renders them prone to ‘heresy’, while the formerly second biggest insurgent group, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s party, has rather been an impeded force of ‘conservation.’     

基于纯方位理论的运动舰船长度测量方法

获得运动舰船的船体长度对于航海避碰和目标识别具有重要的参考价值。然而,由于诸多因素的限制,现有视觉技术难以精确测量。为此,引入了纯方位目标运动分析理论结合双目视觉技术实现对运动舰船长度的测量。首先就所研究问题建立运动模型,推导了基于目标舰船方位、距离参数的舰船长度测量方法,针对该方法测量误差大的问题提出了基于航向、距离、方位的舰船长度测量方法。目标航向无法直接获取,为此引入基于纯方位理论的目标航向视觉估计方法,并进行了仿真验证。最后对两种舰船长度测量模型的误差进行了仿真比较分析,结果表明采用本文提出的"距离航向"法,当观测点位于目标舰船正横左右范围内时误差可以控制在10%内,"方位距离"法误差更小,适用的舷角范围更大。     

The Harmful and Residual Effects on Civilians by Bombing Dual-purpose Facilities

This article addresses what we owe to the civilians of a state with which we are militarily engaged. The old notion of noncombatant immunity needs to be rethought within the context of both human rights and into the postwar phase. No doubt, civilians will be killed in war. However, much more can be done during and after the fighting to protect civilians’ basic human rights from the ills of war. I argue for making belligerents accountable ex post by requiring them to repair destroyed dual-purpose facilities that are essential for securing basic human rights of the civilian populace. I argue also that a belligerent’s targeting decisions should be reviewed ex post by an impartial commission.     

反导作战指控系统对TBM毁伤效果评估

初步研究了反导作战指控系统对于TBM毁伤效果评估的过程和依据。以动能杀伤器（KKV）为研究对象,首先分析了KKV脱靶量和杀伤模型,在此基础上,对反导指控系统对TBM的毁伤准则和毁伤效果评估进行了研究并给出了一般TBM毁伤判断流程,最后举例以KKV导引头作用距离和噪声对脱靶量的影响分析研究了达到直接碰撞杀伤的条件。     

人机共融的远程态势智能感知系统

针对人与远程无人设备协同精准配合的迫切需求,以机器人操作系统为基础构建了一种人机共融的远程态势感知系统,并开展了实验与分析。该系统以视觉定位技术为基础,以人机感知共融为切入点,通过实时三维场景重建技术与场景一致性融合方法,将无人设备探测到的环境及目标信息进行三维重构,并通过增强现实设备进行显示,与人的视觉信息进行一致性融合,实现无GPS条件下远程无人设备与人所佩戴的增强现实设备之间的协同定位。实验结果表明,系统在近距离时具有较好的人机协同定位准确度,定位精度随着距离的增加而逐渐降低。所构建的系统使无人设备成为人眼的延伸,在不干扰人员正常行动的情况下实现了穿障碍、跨视距的感知能力,在未来信息化作战中可发挥重要作用。     

Rebellion and African Ethics

In this paper I draw on Thaddeus Metz’s pioneering work in African ethics, and particularly his account of the concept described by the terms ubuntu (Nguni languages), botho (Sotho-Tswana), hunhu (Shona) or utu (Swahili), to sketch an African normative understanding of the act of rebellion against the authority of the state. Most commonly articulated in the phrase “a person is a person through other persons”, ubuntu is interpreted by Metz as a unique communitarian moral principle which can be described in its essence as the claim that “actions are right, or confer ubuntu (humanness) on a person, insofar as they prize communal relationships, ones in which people identify with each other, or share a way of life, and exhibit solidarity toward one another, or care about each other’s quality of life”. On the face of it, this principle appears at odds with rebellions against state authority. Following Metz, I argue, however, that a deeper grasp of this principle does, in fact, provide a justification for instances of civilian rebellion against state authority, under appropriate circumstances.     

Group support for political violence: The role of emotions and expressive choice in creating conflict or providing peace

This paper provides a rationale for group support for political violence which does not provide a material benefit. Rabin’s (1993) theory of fairness is adopted to demonstrate that although group violence may not be a Nash equilibrium it may be a fairness equilibrium in a game containing psychological payoffs. For this to happen the material stakes must be perceived as low and psychological payoffs are expressive. Although the material stakes are actually high, members of each group may choose expressively to support the use of violence because the probability of being decisive is low. The paper also considers the possibility of peace emerging as a fairness equilibrium. This can only happen if each group perceives the other as making some sacrifice in choosing peace.     

载机扰动下SAR/GMTI旋转目标微多普勒特性分析

目标微动部件激励的雷达微多普勒信号稳定而独特,反映了该目标的本质特征。针对采用相位中心偏置技术(DPCA)的SAR/GMTI系统,研究存在载机扰动下的旋转目标的微多普勒特性。构建飞行平台与微动目标的几何模型,推导旋转目标的微多普勒信号模型,分析典型的载机纵向扰动对微多普勒时频特性构成的影响;并通过仿真实验,验证了上述理论分析的正确性。     

Allocating the U.S. Department of Defense Budget: Revisiting the ‘Incremental/Fair Share Model’

Abstract

This article examines the ‘incremental/fair share model’ that was proposed by Alex Mintz in 1988 concerning the budget allocation of the U.S. Department of Defense. Although Mintz was unable to confirm the correctness of his model, this study demonstrated it to be statistically significant. In the statistical analyses, I used the two-stage least squares method and Durbin’s h-test to better scrutinize the model’s adequacy. Few previous studies have addressed the allocation of the U.S. defence budget; consequently, the incremental/fair-share model should constitute a starting point for further research on the U.S. defence budget allocation.     

Symbolism and Sacrifice in Terrorism

This article compares an ETA shooting incident in the Basque lands with an IRA bombing in Northern Ireland with the aim of examining the often overlooked role of symbolism in ethnic terrorists acts. The study of symbolism is important because it plays a part in impelling the terrorist to act and then in defining the targets of their actions. And one of the most important symbolic acts is that of sacrifice, particularly the blood sacrifice whereby acts of violence link with religion and with man's collective being. The article examines how the importance of symbolism to ethnic nationalist terrorist arises from the particular cultural, social and religious milieu in which they live. This analysis suggests that the terrorist act itself is symbolic of the terrorist cause and should not be only understood in purely rational 'means-ends' terms.     

联合侦察图像对岸上目标定位方法

随着卫星和无人机技术日趋成熟,使用卫星和无人机搭载成像设备执行战场侦察任务,及时获取敌方阵地图像信息,已成为各军事强国的重要侦察手段。以大口径舰炮远程对岸目标精确打击为背景,对无人机侦察图像的几何校正、卫星图片的地理坐标提取等技术进行分析,推导了相关的数学模型。通过相关的图像处理技术,结合联合侦察图像对岸上目标定位的主要误差源分析,提供了一种有效的联合侦察图像目标定位方法,并通过仿真数据显示了图像预处理技术在目标定位过程中对提高定位精度的作用。     

Legacy of Bitterness: Insurgency in North West Rwanda

The insurgency in North West Rwanda is a good example of a small scale conflict that provides a first step into the more complex world of regional instability in central Africa. Following the genocide of 1994, genocidaires and ex-military personnel fled to what was then Zaire and established a network of anti-Tutsi bases. Linking up with local groups in Eastern Zaire, these insurgents, usually known as ‘infiltrators’ have carried out a low-intensity but consistent insurgency campaign in Rwanda.

The constant barrage of propaganda aimed at the local population, a technique pioneered during the 1994 genocide, has led to a general, manufactured support for the insurgency. In particular, those people returning from Zaire have been fed a constant diet of anti-Tutsi and Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA) propaganda, making it easier to act against these groups. Even within the local government and other official bodies, there are widespread Hutu sympathies that have led to additional aid reaching the insurgents.

The particular strain of ethnic violence has led to an insurgency in which civilian villages are as likely to be attacked as RPA military installations. More surprising, given the nature of the insurgency, Hutus themselves have been targets. Initially, moderate Hutus were singled out as examples, but increasingly indiscriminate killings have been aiming to force all Hutus to take sides.

The insurgents have deliberately polarised large parts of Rwanda and this has profound implications for conflict resolution. In particular, supplementing the military campaign with political social campaigns, at least partly to combat the mythology of grievance among the Hutus, and tackling the conflict as part of a supra-national conflict that goes beyond ‘national’ borders.