against a bully marauder was just such a cause. We went to Iraq to take on the bully
and make it retreat. Imagine how America would have reacted if we allowed ourselves
to become the very evil we had gone over there to fight against.
(4) Reciprocity with nations involved. The idea here is that if one nation
complies with the law, all nations involved in the conflict will have an incentive to do so
likewise. That doesn't always work, of course but this doesn't mean that we simply
ignore rules ourselves. This is just one of the reasons for complying with the law; there
are many others. Besides, the reverse is true--if we violate the rules, we will inevitably
cause the enemy to do so likewise, resulting in retaliatory reprisals against our own
forces. Thus, our violations will, indeed, come back to haunt us and we may wind up
having caused the deaths of our own fellow soldiers.
(5) Facilitation of restoration of peace. History has shown us that today's
enemy may be tomorrow's friend. Recall that in World War II, our adversaries were
Japan and Germany; today we have various treaties with them, bound together by our
common interests. Similarly, during World War II, the US and Russia both fought
against Germany. Violating the law of war makes the enemy hate us with such fervor
that it may be much more difficult, if not impossible, for former enemies to now live
together in peace. The conflict, however, will not last forever; it is in our self interest to
resolve the fighting and return the warring parties to a state of at least peaceful co-
existence.
(6) Violations strengthen enemy\ resistance. While all of the above reasons
are important ones, if you had to pick the single most important reason, this would
probably be it. Our violations enrage the enemy and make its soldiers want to avenge
our atrocities; we make the enemy's desire to kill us that much stronger. What sane
soldier would want to give the enemy a rallying cry that could be used to strengthen its
resolve to fight on to the death and defeat us? This is a lesson that has been learned
from history, sometimes in a very painful manner. Think of the effect the Mexican Army
had when General Santa Ana's troops marched on the Alamo under the red flag, the
General having ordered that no prisoners be taken. With the subsequent slaying of the
defenders at the Alamo, Mexico won the battle that day, but its actions lead to its defeat
shortly thereafter at the San Jacinto River where General Sam Houston, leading the
badly out-manned Army of Texans, lined his men up and gave them the order,
"Remember the Alamo". Remember it they did.
(7) Malmedy Massacre. Think also of the Malmedy Massacre in World
War II and how the actions of the German soldiers gave the Americans a reason to fight
with even greater ferocity to avenge the deaths of their fellow soldiers. The point here is
that our violations can give the enemy a rallying cry, something that may urge enemy
soldiers to fight on to the death in order to bring death and destruction to our own
soldiers. Why would we give the enemy an incentive NOT to surrender? What we want
is to encourage him to surrender, not deter that from happening. During the Gulf War,
for example, many lives were spared (many of which were undoubtedly our own) when
the Iraqi Republican Guard stopped fighting against the advancing Coalition Forces.
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