So, I do not fully agree with the above quote from “The Good
War Gone Bad” article. There was moral courage and ethically sound actions taken and exemplified in the Vietnam War even during the horrific tragedy of the My Lai Massacre, where
500 unarmed Vietnamese noncombatants were shot and killed. Hugh Thompson Jr., a helicopter pilot, and his crew were providing protection for ground troops when they saw bodies stacked up in piles. The crew then realized the ground troops were not receiving fire and were going on a shooting rampage. Hugh Thompson landed the helo in between the Vietnamese civilians and his fellow allied troops and ordered that they not fire, meanwhile Hugh Thompson gave his helo crew the order that if the troops start shooting at the innocent, to start shooting at the troops.
Hugh Thompson was prepared for the worst, but ended up saving innocent lives that day, because of the moral courage he had to stand up for what was right despite the backlash he …show more content…
There are also four clarifications or justifications of war Thomas Aquinas uses which are, using war as the last resort, reasonable hope for success, proportional, and dignifies just means. There is also a moral
basis of rules for war that should be followed a prudential basis, which would mean to provide restoration after the war to provide just peace, a reciprocity basis, which is treating all humanity with dignity and respect (which goes along with what Colonel Tim Collins states in his inspirational speech to his command before war), and the virtue of professional arms basis, which includes professionalism, not defending our values using means that violate them, and the psychological wellbeing of our troops.
In conclusion, we must focus on the moral courage that comes with fighting in war, and to fight in a just way even if there is no just war. In the Art of War, it states:
“Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril.
When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your chances of winning