This thesis focuses on the issue of drone strikes as a means of targeted killing of high value targets suspected of terrorist activities or affiliations. The United States of America has been using this method of elimination since the year 2001 as part of the Global War on Terrorism. However this practice raises a series of moral questions. It creates a new environment of alienation of the target and the person pulling the trigger. This thesis examines the compliance of drone strikes and the Global War on Terrorism as such with the Just War Theory. This theory is the leading concept in warfare ethics and offers a comprehensive research pattern. The finding of this thesis is that the use of drones, as it is employed today, is in conflict with the principles of this theory and therefore unjust. This finding is demonstrated by the research of two concrete drone strikes. Additionally, the Global War on Terrorism is also assessed to be an unjust war and therefore this thesis offers a comprehensive insight into the topic as it assesses both the practice and the overall context of drone strikes.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the United States has transferred close to a hundred individuals suspected of terrorism to foreign jurisdictions through a process known as extraordinary rendition. This is an infamous program that allows for the transfer of individuals to a foreign jurisdiction for interrogation, detention, or trial. While the use of extraordinary rendition attracts widespread controversy regarding its use and legality, it remains a vital tool for combating international terrorism. Evidence in this thesis lends support to extraordinary rendition program, but recognizes that while the program strengthens the country’s ability to gather vital intelligence to combat terrorism, there are methods to improve the program. The extraordinary rendition program requires an assessment of the totality of circumstances before a extraordinary rendition is permitted; reliance on diplomatic assurances from countries that hold a good human rights record; and subsequent monitoring of individuals rendered to foreign states to ensure that transfers comply with U.S. and international law. Evidence suggests that extraordinary rendition aids in the ability to gather sensitive intelligence and serves as a gathering tool used by American presidents to preserve freedom and peace; however, in the eyes of critics, this program represents a perversely autonomous and un-American legal maneuver that avoids due process. This thesis seeks to discuss common misconceptions associated with the extraordinary rendition program and identify the major points of controversy. The first part explores the history of the extraordinary rendition program and provides an understanding of its roots and procedures. The second part, discusses the executive branch’s attempts to conduct extraordinary renditions morally and responsibly, and examines the legal oversight and accountability gaps surrounding the program. Part three identifies the line of authority empowering the President to conduct extraordinary renditions. It also outlines the struggle of the legislative, judicial and executive branches to strengthen the extraordinary rendition program’s compliance with the rule of law by increasing oversight and accountability. Finally, Part four discusses the future of the extraordinary rendition program. The discussion presents possible solutions to correct oversight and accountability problems and suggests a multi-faceted approach that raises the bar for extraordinary renditions, thereby closing the oversight and accountability gaps.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The Iraq War and the War on Terror were pivotal issues in the presidential race for the White House in 2004. Competing frames about the meaning of September 11, 2001, terrorism, and American power were constructed by the rival candidates and established a limited debate that marginalized alternative interpretations of war and peace. It is likely that the dilemma over U.S. forces in Iraq and the War on Terror will continue to be a major issue in the upcoming 2008 Presidential Election. Therefore, the campaign speeches of the presidential candidates, President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry, during the 2004 Election regarding terrorism were important to understanding the themes that initiated public debate in the U.S. about the conflict in Iraq and the War on Terror. In this document analysis, these candidates’ public addresses illustrated how the role of the U.S. power to combat terrorism shaped a particular perspective about the post-9/11 world. Ideas that challenged “official” debate about war and national security were excluded from mainstream media coverage of the campaign. In order to examine the narrow debate over terrorism and how alternative “ways of seeing” war have been and continue to be marginalized, this study compared how the candidates framed the war in contrast to anti-war voices. Cindy Sheehan, who is an emergent leader in the peace and social justice movement, and more “official” voices of dissent like Representative Dennis Kucinich, have criticized “official” framing of the war. Dissenting perspectives about the Iraq War and the War on Terror invite a different understanding about U.S. hegemony, terrorism, and the consequences of the War on Terror for foreign and domestic policies. The impact of the war upon domestic policy and national crises, such as the widely televised and heavily criticized federal response to Hurricane Katrina Summer 2005, were examined to explore how domestic crises undermine “official” framing of the Iraq War and the War on Terror and empower alternative understandings of war and peace.

Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) represent one of the longest wartime deployments in the history of the American military. To date, 1.6 million American military members have deployed. Of these, an estimated 300,000 have returned with a mental health condition, such as depression or PTSD. The Department of Defense has established a robust screening program to identify and track deployment-related physical and psychiatric illnesses. The Post-Deployment Health Reassessment (PDHRA) is a primary tool to identify physical and psychiatric risk following a deployment. The PDHRA is a web-based survey, which is administered between 90-180 days after a deployment. This study seeks to evaluate the psychometric properties and clinical utility of the Post-Deployment Health Reassessment (PDHRA) for accurately identifying truama and depression among Airmen following a deployment. Descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to address separate research aims. Study aims assessed the impact of deployment on military members and the clinical utility and psychometric properties of the Post-Deployment Health Reassessment. Findings suggest that the Post-Deployment Health Reassessment is a useful triage tool to identify trauma and depression among Airmen following deployment. The study makes recommendations for improving the clinical utility and psychometric properties of the Post-Deployment Health Reassessment (PDHRA). / text

Exploring Puritanical cultural habits in the 21st century American military, the following study focuses on U.S. Army courts-martial in the Global War on Terrorism. The study uses Emile Durkheim's original sociological interpretation of crime and deviance. That interpretation is linked with responsibility as described by Durkheim's follower Paul Fauconnet in Responsibility: A Study in Sociology ([1928] 1978) and with a new cultural reading of Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism ([1905] 1976). The study is an inductive, descriptive examination of the Puritanical aspects of American military culture based on its treatment of acts labeled as deviant and criminal in the Global War on Terrorism. Four sets of war crimes are included in the study: Abu Ghraib (which occurred in Iraq in 2004), Operation Iron Triangle (which occurred in Iraq in 2006), the Baghdad canal killings (which occurred in Iraq in 2007), and the Maywand District killings (which occurred in Afghanistan in 2010). My data include primary data collected through participation and observation as a consultant for courts-martial related to all the cases except Abu Ghraib. Records of trial, investigation reports, charge sheets, sworn statements, and other documentation are also included in the study as secondary data sources. The study illuminates how unconscious, Puritan cultural habits color and shape both military actions and their perceptions. I explore Puritanism and its influence on military law, responsibility, revenge, "magic" (in its sociological sense), and narcissism. The study concludes with observations and recommendations for changes in U.S. military law.

This thesis focuses on the ethical aspects of soldiers of the Army of the Czech republic participating in the foreign operations, not only in relation to the legality and legitimacy of military intervention, but also from the point of view of practical ethical questions of soldiers sent to perform tasks in these operations. The first part of this thesis introduces the Army of the Czech Republic as a tool to ensure national security and national sovereignty, built with emphasis to fulfill military traditions, virtues and professional ethics. Later, in historical and contemporary contexts summarizes the basic ethical solutions for the legitimate use of force to resolve international conflicts. The second part reflects the umanitarian and security operations taking place in the former Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan as the consequences of massive human rights violations, ethnic violence and global terrorism. In the context of the ethical and Christian dimension of legitimate use of military means, summarizes the basic issues while solving security threats and enforcing national interests.

Essay in Political Science, Advanced Course, by Christoffer Hagström “The Bush Administration´s view on international cooperation and international law and political-theoretical traditions influence on the administration´s foreign policy” Supervisor: Jan Olsson The purpose of this paper is to analyze the American foreign policy, particularly with regard to international cooperation and international law. The two following research-questions are used in order to fulfil the purpose: (1) what is the Bush-administrations´s view of of the place for international cooperation and international law in American foreign policy?, and (2) how does the administration´s foreign policy correspond to dominant political-theoretical thought-traditions? The traditions used are: liberalism, realism and neoconservatism. The sources of the study mostly include literature and policy-documents. The author conducts qualitative and quantitative content analysis of the Bush-administration´s policy document National Security Strategy of the United States from March 2006. First the document is summarized based on different criteria followed by categorizations of ideas connected with realism, liberalism and neoconservatism in the document. In the quantative analysis value-words that are appropriate for the various traditions is chosen. The frequency of those words can be seen as indications of the influence of the traditions in the thoughts of the Bush-administration, but is mostly seen as a complement to the qualtative analysis. The main conclusions of the paper are that the Bush-administration most often wish to act according to international law and to cooperate with other actors internationally in the long run, it may even be necessary. In the short run however, it may act outside the parameters of international organizations and international law in order to accomplish foreign policy-goals. Matters related to the security of the American state and people is considered much more important than international cooperation and law. Liberalism seems to be the tradition that has most affected the Bush-administration´s foreign policy. It is followed shortly thereafter by realism and neoconservatism seems to have had the least influence on the the thought-traditions. All of the them has been active in the making of the foreign policy.

La thèse porte sur la mise en scène de la guerre dans les entraînements militaires aux États-Unis. Elle étudie des faux villages moyen-orientaux qui servent pour l’entraînement de pré-déploiement en Irak et en Afghanistan. On retrouve ces villages sur diverses bases militaires, comme au National Training Center (NTC) de Fort Irwin (Californie), où une douzaine de faux villages afghans et iraquiens ont été construits depuis 2007 dans le contexte de la contre-insurrection afin de préparer les troupes aux guerres de type urbaines et asymétriques. Dans ces environnements immersifs, l’armée américaine tente de reproduire les paysages socioculturel et religieux où se tiennent les missions : mosquées, salons de thé, marchés extérieurs, maisons traditionnelles forment le décor. Afin de préparer les soldats au terrain humain, une rencontre culturelle est simulée entre eux et la population locale à travers des jeux de rôle. Des acteurs, qui sont parfois d’origine afghane et iraquienne, sont embauchés pour jouer la population locale, ce qui servirait à prévenir un certain « choc culturel » anticipé sur le terrain et augmenter la sensibilité culturelle des soldats. Des experts de l’industrie du cinéma comme des pyrotechniciens et des artistes-maquilleurs participent également à ces simulations pour les rendre plus « réalistes » à travers leurs effets spéciaux. La thèse étudie les rationalités et les technologies à l'œuvre dans les faux villages et les manières dont elles soutiennent cette mise en scène « culturelle » de la guerre. Elle examine les pratiques matérielles et discursives des performances qui s’y déroulent. En quelles instances les exercices de simulation s’inscrivent-ils dans un régime de représentation racialisé? Comment l’orientalisme américain est-il articulé dans ces espaces? Quels mythes politiques et discours dominants circulent dans ces géographies fictives? La thèse problématise la représentation et la production de savoirs sur l’autre. Ce faisant, elle participe à la discussion sur l’altérité entamée par plusieurs courants théoriques et champs disciplinaires dont elle s'inspire, notamment les cultural studies, les critical race theories et la critique postcoloniale. L’analyse est basée sur une observation de courte durée au NTC. Le Centre offre des visites guidées de la base qui permettent au public d’assister à une journée d’entraînements dans les faux villages. J’ai participé à deux reprises à ces « NTC Box Tours ». J’ai également mené des entrevues semi-dirigées avec plus de vingt vétérans d’Iraq et d’Afghanistan afin de discuter avec eux de leur expérience d’entraînement de pré-déploiement et du rôle de la culture dans les simulations militaires. / The thesis looks at the performance of war in military training in the US. It studies the mock Middle Eastern villages that are used for Iraq and Afghanistan pre-deployment training. These villages are found on several military bases such as the National Training Center of Fort Irwin (California), where a dozen of oriental towns were implemented since 2007 in order to prepare the troops for urban and asymmetrical type of warfare in the context of counterinsurgency. In these immersive environments, the US military tries to reproduce overseas sociocultural and religious landscapes: mosques, tea rooms, street markets, traditional houses and so on form the set. To prepare the soldiers to the human terrain, a cultural encounter between them and the local population is simulated through role play. Actors, sometimes from Iraq and Afghanistan, are hired to enact the local population. This is said to prevent an anticipated “culture clash” on the ground and raise cultural awareness amongst the soldiers. Experts from the filmmaking industry such as pyrotechnics and makeup artists also take part in these simulations – working to make them more “realistic” through their special effects. The thesis examines the rationalities and technologies at stake in the mock villages, and the way they sustain the « cultural » mise en scène of war. The research interrogates the material and discursive practices of the performances taking place in the mock towns. In what instances are the simulation exercices anchored in a racialized system of representation; how is the American orientalism being rearticulated in these spaces; what political myths and hegemonic discourses are circulating in these fictive geographies? The thesis problematizes the ways of knowing and representing the other. Therefore, the research takes part to the discussion on otherness initiated by diverse theoritical accounts and academic fields, such as cultural studies, critical race theories, and postcolonial critique. The analysis is based on a short observation at NTC. The Center offers guided tours of the base, allowing the general public to attend to one day of training in the mock villages. I participated twice in these “NTC Box tours”. I also conducted semi-directed interviews with more than twenty Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, in which they share with me their experiences of pre-deployment training and their thoughts on the place of culture in military simulations.

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Despite being the global leader in the “war on terror,” the United States has been accused of sponsoring terrorism against Cuba. The following study assesses these charges. After establishing a definition of terrorism, it examines U.S.-Cuban relations from 1808 to 1958, arguing that the United States has historically employed violence in its efforts to control Cuba. U.S. leaders maintained this approach even after the Cuban Revolution: months after Fidel Castro’s guerrilla army took power, Washington began organizing Cuban exiles to carry out terrorist attacks against the island, and continued to support and tolerate such activities until the 1970s, culminating in what was the hemisphere’s most lethal act of airline terrorism before 9/11. Since then, the United States has maintained contact with well-known anti-Castro terrorists, in many cases employing and harbouring them, despite its claims to be fighting an international campaign against terrorism.