To Take Care of Them: An Ethical Case Study of the Canal Incident

Abstract

This thesis examines the moral permissibility of First Sergeant John Hatley's decision to kill, and influence others to kill, four unarmed detainees near Baghdad in the spring of 2007. Ethics is an important topic for all members of the profession of arms. With the seemingly constant news reports of ethical indiscretions by U.S. Army Soldiers, many of them by senior U.S. Army leaders, the need for continued Professional Military Ethics (PME) dialogue within the ranks has become exceedingly clear. This thesis will strive to do more than simply understand what took place next to that Baghdad canal; it will evaluate and analyze the killings. The thesis attempts to answer the following questions: Did First Sergeant Hatley possess an inherent right to defend himself against threats of deadly force?, Was taking care of the detainees his only option for survival?, Could the detainees have been considered imminent threats?, and Was he morally justified in acting preemptively?

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 14, 2013
Accession Number
ADA589820

Entities

People

  • Emmitt M. Furner Ii

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Case Studies
  • Combat Operations
  • Explosive Devices
  • Governments
  • Human Behavior
  • International Law
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Police
  • Security
  • Students
  • United States
  • United States Naval Academy
  • Vietnam War
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Strategic Security Studies