Why does violence continue against non-combatants in the twenty-first century? Although the United States is a signatory to most conventions regarding the law of war, and enjoys technological superiority in most relevant warfighting technologies, violence against non-combatants remains an unfortunate but all-to-familiar by-product of its military campaigns. This thesis examines whether the U.S. military has failed to make adequate efforts to eliminate this violence or if their efforts have been undermined by other influences.
This thesis specifically focuses on a comparative evaluation of law of war violations and other severe ethical infractions committed by personnel of the Army and Marines and from Vietnam until the present. It also examines how external influences, like political pressure or public opinion, affected the military’s propensity to respond to such violations. By doing so it challenges the ideas of writers such as Nick Turse who asserts the United States military’s policy was to ignore the rights of non-combatants as a matter of policy. Instead, by drawing on works by Gary Kulik and others, and making extensive use of primary sources such as investigations, court proceedings, and oral history interviews conducted by the author, the thesis offers a more nuanced understanding of military responses. To discern the civilian reaction to the events, contemporary media accounts and polling data are explored.
The thesis findings are closer to that of Kulik with regard to the causal nature of violations, but sees clear ties to government vacillation between intervention in military justice and inaction to improve policy or accountability and the effect of public social attitudes and apathy concerning violations. This thesis acknowledges the existence of law of war violations, but in seeking to ascertain the cause does not find them to be a matter of policy within the military. Rather, I contend they are the joint product of actions, or in some cases lack of actions, and attitudes within the military, government, and society.
