War After September 11

Front Cover
Verna V. Gehring
Rowman & Littlefield, 2003 - History - 99 pages
What are the limits of justified retaliation against aggression? What actions are morally permissible in preventing future aggression? Against whom may retaliation be aimed? These questions have long been part of the debate over the ethics of warfare. They all took on new meaning after terrorists hijacked four U.S. airliners on September 11, 2001. War after September 11 considers the just aims and legitimate limits of the United States' response to the terrorist attacks. Six essayists from the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at the University of Maryland pair off to discuss ethical questions such as, What are the moral challenges posed by terrorism? Can modern terrorism be addressed within the existing paradigms of just war and international law? Should the U.S. respond militarily or by some other means? Taken together, the essays in this volume ask the fundamental question: How should the United States use its power to combat terrorism?
 

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Contents

The Ethics of Retaliation
11
Terrorism Innocence and War
21
The Moral Hazards of Military Response
35
The Paradox of Riskless Warfare
37
The War on Terrorism and the End of Human Rights
51
Looking Ahead The Possibility of a Comprehensive Approach
63
Is Development an Effective Way to Fight Terrorism?
65
Terror and the Politics of Fear
75
Index
93
About the Editor and Contributors
97
Copyright

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About the author (2003)

Verna Gehring is editor at the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at the School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland. She is a philosopher broadly interested in the obligations of state and citizen, and the various accounts of civil society. She serves as editor of Philosophy & Public Policy Quarterly, reviewer of ethics manuscripts for Oxford University Press, and moderator for the Aspen Institute.