Just War Reconsidered

Jus in bello, how war is conducted has at least two dimensions: a tactical dimension, which concerns fighting a war, and a strategic dimension, which concerns waging a war. Since wars spring from a political purpose, and given the reality of war, strategies, policies, and campaigns are civil-military decisions that require a robust and continual interaction between selected senior political leaders and generals. Jus in bello must include
not only the responsibilities of soldiers and their leaders in battle, but also the responsibilities that senior political and military leaders have at the strategic level. Those senior political and military leaders whose responsibility it is to wage war have a responsibility to act in ways ensuring that lives—not only of the innocent but also of the soldiers they employ—are respected, not squandered.