Title: Walking away from Nuremberg : just war and the doctrine of command responsibility /
Authors: Rockwood, Lawrence.
Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press,
Year: 2007
Subjects: Military ethics United States.; Command of troops.; Just war doctrine.; War crimes.; Command responsibility (International law)
Abstract: Rockwood places his own experience in Haiti within the broader context of the American military doctrine of "command responsibility"--the set of rules that holds individual officers directly responsible for the commission of war crimes under their authority. He traces the evolution of this doctrine from the Civil War, where its principles were first articulated as the "Lieber Code," through the Nuremberg trials following World War II, where they were reaffirmed and applied, to the present. Rockwood shows how in the past half-century the United States has gradually abandoned its commitment to these standards, culminating in recent Bush administration initiatives that in effect would shield American commanders and officials from prosecution for many war crimes. Recent events reflect an "official anti-humanitarian" trend, Rockwood argues, that is at odds with our nation's traditions and principles. [from publisher description].
Contents: Nuremberg, Germany, November 20, 1945 -- Just war doctrine and General Order No. 100 -- The doctrinal development of the American military profession -- Command responsibility and the meaning of Nuremberg -- The American military ethic in the early Cold War -- Command responsibility and the My Lai Massacre -- The 1977 Geneva Protocol I and post-Vietnam military doctrine -- Drinking from the poisoned chalice.