First Word

This is the 65th anniversary of the Allied firebomb-murder of Hamburg known as Operation Gomorrah, which I outlined a year ago. For this year’s remembrance, I propose to continue the review of Grayling’s book on the subject, by listing the main milestones of just war thinking at the level of international consensus, to the extent expounded by Grayling. (As usual, the page number references are given in parentheses.)

1. Augustine – credited as the first to expound limits to warfare based on Christian theory.

2. Thomas Aquinas. 3 conditions under which war can be justified: (1) just cause, (2) under proper authority, (3) waged with good intentions (211).

3. “Later theorists” added two additional criteria: (4) reasonable chance of success, (5) proportionality (212).

4. 1625 Hugo Grotius’ De Jure Belli ac Pacis. The first philosophico- theological book on the subject of just war (216-220).

5. 1864 Geneva Convention protecting sick and wounded soldiers.

6. 1868 St Petersburg Declaration, by the International Military Commission hosted by the Imperial Cabinet of Russia. Emphasis was on eliminating weapons designed to cause pain and suffering, as opposed to weakening of enemy armed force. “The necessities of war ought to yield to the requirements of humanity.” (122)

7. 1874 Brussels Project for an International Declaration on the Laws and Customs of War. (223)

8. 1880 Institute for International Law, Oxford (223)

9. “Hague IV.” 1899 “International Peace Conference” in the Hague, sponsored by Czar Nicholas II and Queen Wilhelmina of Netherlands. Wording built heavily on (6), (7) and (8). (121, 123, 223-225). Prohibited for five years the launching of projectiles and explosives from balloons. “Populations and belligerents remain under the protection and empire of the principles of international law, as they result from the usages established between civilized nations, from the laws of humanity and the requirements of the public conscience.”

10. The Hague 1907 “most of the First International Peace Conference agreements were reasserted” (123, 226)

11. 1922/23 Hague. The Five Major powers (Britain, France, US, Italy, Japan) took part, though result was not signed by the governments. Clearly foresaw the danger of air power. (143-145)

12. 1925 Geneva Gas Protocol. Prohibited poison gas and bacteriological weapons (226).

13. 1925-32 League of Nations conference for arms control. (145)

14. 1932 Geneva Disarmament Conference (146). General Conference for the Limitation and Reduction of Armaments. Efforts to restrict bombing from aircraft failed, mainly because the British saw bombing as necessary for colonial control. The discussions broke down on deciding whether bombers were offensive or defensive weapons (227).

15. Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 — protection for civilians in time of war. (234-5)

16. 1977 additional two protocols, forbidding war against civilians, including area bombing. The Red Cross had pushed for this continuously since WW2, but it was resisted by the Allies, for reasons that are now obvious. The US is still not a signatory to these protocols (235-242). Spreading democracy throughout the world requires, of course, the ability to pulverize nay-sayers into oblivion.

Just a few comments as food for thought.

It is disheartening that advocacy of just war principles began with a Calvinist (Augustine), proceeded via Romish Thomas to Arminian Grotius and thence to forces that, from the quotes given, are clearly humanistic. Our side has clearly lost the initiative; except that the Geneva-based Red Cross has certainly played a big role in the conventions of the last century and a half. (It is nonetheless interesting how prominent the role is of historically Reformed cities Geneva and the Hague.)

The first Geneva Convention took place during our own War of Northern Aggression, though, I suspect, probably motivated more by developments of warfare in Europe than with America’s tragedy in view.

The interest in – that is, horror at the prospect of – bombing in particular seems to have been a recurring concern and motivation for the international conventions. There is, I suggest, something primally sound about this. Warfare should be fundamentally a matter of hand-to-hand combat. One should have the dignity of being killed personally. The hero of the movie Patton saw this, I paraphrase: “no heroes, no cowards, no generals? God help us. I want no part of it.” When anti-aircraft defenses create parity, then it is a war of the engineers. When the defenses break down, as they finally did in Germany, or where they never really existed, as Serbia in Miss Lewinsky’s war, a brutal massacre ensues where nothing is established, and there is really nothing historical. We become reduced to Africa with high tech. It is just raw materiality.

Simultaneous to pulverizing the German cities, and for that reason, Bomber Harris destroyed what was morally worthwhile about the British Empire. We Americans have taken it to the next logical step. Bombs and McDonalds. This is what America has become, at least from the understandable viewpoint of much of the world.

The information for this reflection was obtained from A. C. Grayling, Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan (Walker 2006).