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Last update - 02:57 30/09/2009
MI: IDF needs new ethics code for war on terror
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Gaza, Israel News, IDF 

The Israel Defense Forces should adopt a "Code of Ethics for the War on Terror," because its existing ethical code is insufficient, according to Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, the head of Military Intelligence.

Yadlin co-authored the proposed code along with Prof. Asa Kasher, the philosopher who drafted the army's first code of ethics in the mid-1990s. That code was later replaced by the current one, "The Spirit of the IDF," drafted by other philosophers.

However, Yadlin argues, the current code does not sufficiently address one of the army's most pressing challenges: asymmetric warfare against terrorist organizations that operate amid a civilian population, such as the 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon or January's Operation Cast Lead against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
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IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi has yet to respond to Yadlin's proposal.

In 2003, Yadlin and Kasher published an article titled "Ethical Counterterrorism," in which they justified assassinating wanted terrorists even if it injured or killed Palestinian civilians. A year later, aided by a team of army lawyers, the two reworked this article into a document titled "Military Ethics for the War on Terror." Then-chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon backed the document and cited its ideas in numerous military forums, but neither he nor his successors ever adopted it as a binding IDF document, so formally, the army is still governed by "The Spirit of the IDF."

"The Spirit of the IDF list 10 values that obligate every soldier. Number 5 is "human life," which requires the soldier to take sensible safety precautions "out of recognition of the supreme importance of human life," but also to endanger himself and his comrades when necessary to accomplish the mission. Number 6, "purity of arms," obligates soldiers to use force only to accomplish the mission, and "only to the degree necessary for this." A soldier must not use his weapons to harm noncombatants, it continues, and must "do everything in his power to prevent injury to [noncombatants'] lives, bodies, dignity and property."

In an interview with Haaretz in February, Kasher said that Cast Lead was conducted in the spirt of the proposed new code he co-authored with Yadlin, and that "the norms the commanders applied in Gaza were generally proper." In places where the IDF lacks effective control of the territory, like Gaza, he explained, the commander's supreme responsibility is carrying out the mission, and second is safeguarding his soldiers; preventing harm to civilians is only third priority.

However, he added, that is not true in places where Israel does have effective control. In those places, there is no justification for, say, an assassination that might cause civilian casualties, because viable alternatives exist, like arresting the terrorist.

In this interview, he also said there is "no logic to comparing the number of civilians killed with the number of armed men killed on the Palestinian side, or the number [of Israelis] killed by Qassam [rockets] compared to the number of civilians killed in Gaza," and that soldiers should not be forced to take extra risks, beyond those inherent in combat, to prevent harm to civilians.


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      1.   Trash the code, embrace reality of the occupations... 03:23  |  BBSNews 30/09/09
      2.   McChrystal`s 60 Minutes interview on this very topic (Part I) 03:40  |  Curious 30/09/09
      3.   McChrystal (Part II) 03:43  |  Curious 30/09/09
      4.   MCChrystal (Part III) 03:45  |  Curious 30/09/09
      5.   ethics 03:48  |  michael 30/09/09
      6.   What ethics code does hamas, hezbollah and al aska martyrs use? 04:09  |  Jeff 30/09/09
      7.   Ronnbo responds 04:10  |  Ronnbo 30/09/09
      8.   What twaddle 04:24  |  Mark Lincoln 30/09/09
      9.   Where to start for the "new IDF ethics code." 04:44  |  Maureen Ann 30/09/09
      10.   The code of Eethics has never changed 04:51  |  netsp 30/09/09
      11.   Asymmetric warfare. 04:58  |  Raphael 30/09/09
      12.   no war on terror; military apartheid 06:14  |  Jimbo 30/09/09
      13.   BS News: Goldstone ask Hamas if they operated from homes 06:37  |  That`s credible! 30/09/09
      14.   No New Code Needed. Israel Acted Appropriately 06:37  |  Robert 30/09/09
      15.   BS News, News brief: Gaza is occupied by Hamas not Israel 06:38  |  Dan 30/09/09
      16.   conduct in war 06:40  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 30/09/09
      17.   there is no ethics in colonization, occupation and ethnic cleans 07:03  |  get a clue 30/09/09
      18.   Israel should have been proactive and punished misreants first 07:06  |  peterrouget 30/09/09
      19.   international law 07:09  |  george Hazou 30/09/09
      20.   The article raises a very good point. 07:12  |  Fortuna Benmayor 30/09/09
      21.   To Maureen Ann #7 07:17  |  Boris 30/09/09
      22.   At last there is an least an admission of asymmetry... 07:21  |  Esther 30/09/09
      23.   It certainly does need a new way to act 07:39  |  Labhras 30/09/09
      24.   Wrong. IDF should REFUSE to serve in the Occupied Territorties. 07:44  |  Ivar 30/09/09
      25.   EeesRa El - A Mortal Who Dares Strive With Almighty G-d And... 07:54  |  Lavi 30/09/09
      26.   stop being childish 08:10  |  Fist 30/09/09
      27.   There was no code before the mid-1990s 08:43  |  sh 30/09/09
      28.   Leave the poor palistinians alone 08:57  |  then what? 30/09/09
      29.   Gaza War??? 08:58  |  K,K & K 30/09/09
      30.   Hamas Wanted The War 09:16  |  Ron 30/09/09
      31.   The 10 commandments 09:17  |  Cynic #2 30/09/09
      32.   Oh really 09:18  |  Colin Wright 30/09/09
      33.   To Curious 09:30  |  Ron 30/09/09
      34.   Kasher looking for a trip to the Hague? 09:48  |  Michael 30/09/09
      35.   BBSNews #1 - Trash the code, occupation, etcetera... 09:49  |  S 30/09/09
      36.   Curious - that`s really great...but... 09:57  |  Richard 30/09/09
      37.   The ethics code should be set by the Israeli people..... 10:01  |  Swiss (Dino) 30/09/09
      38.   Like a document out of hell 10:16  |  Sarahgit 30/09/09
      39.   Ethics and the IDF. An oxymoron. 10:59  |  Roo 30/09/09
      40.   Ethics and the IDF. An oxymoron. 11:06  |  Roo 30/09/09
      41.   #6/Jeff 11:27  |  What ethics code ? 30/09/09
      42.   Indeed Esther #22 There is plenty of asymmetry... 11:39  |  S 30/09/09
      43.   Yadlin - a hardcore ideological opponent of peace 12:04  |  seth 30/09/09
      44.   A central issue here is that the miltary 12:06  |  r cummings 30/09/09
      45.   The IDF needs a code for getting out of the land & war business 12:14  |  Dutch 30/09/09
      46.   simple, lets copy Nato, US, UK etc 12:24  |  rich 30/09/09
      47.   Why is the IDF so reluctant to fight the 12:28  |  r cummings 30/09/09
      48.   hard to believe... 12:43  |  ana 30/09/09
      49.   This great desire to be judged by the same 12:49  |  r cummings 30/09/09
      50.   S on asymmetry 12:51  |  sh 30/09/09
      51.   WMD/Orwell - who said there was no room for morals in Zionism? 12:53  |  Tcherkessi 30/09/09
      52.   new ethics 13:19  |  IRONY 30/09/09
      53.   makes sense, but the UN and Geneva accords also need updating 13:19  |  Jon 30/09/09
      54.   what about a code of "occupation"? 13:24  |  Nahman Umani 30/09/09
      55.   BBSNews Aha changing every thing upside down. 13:24  |  Aby 30/09/09
      56.   THE JUDGES 13:32  |  Yaron 30/09/09
      57.   Roo 13:40  |  rich 30/09/09
      58.   new ethics code for war on terror 13:41  |  Ralph 30/09/09
      59.   r cummings 13:43  |  rich 30/09/09
      60.   @Swiss (Dino) 13:43  |  Ralph 30/09/09
      61.   dino 13:48  |  oz 30/09/09
      62.   Rich#46 Maybe copy NATO 13:53  |  Mickey 30/09/09
      63.   Jeff #6 and Ralph #58 14:23  |  Censored 30/09/09
      64.   to bbs - its becuase they did not cooperate... 14:28  |  ben 30/09/09
      65.   rich #57 14:35  |  Roo 30/09/09
      66.   Hamas Code was shown at Sbarro and Seder and other massacre 14:57  |  Alan SA 30/09/09
      67.   RE: 16 Cipora 15:14  |  Mark 30/09/09
      68.   # 61 No, oz, it is the tremdous difference between pretension.... 15:16  |  Swiss (Dino) 30/09/09
      69.   ethics code 15:16  |  oz 30/09/09
      70.   maybe is better for IDF 16:12  |  dani.a 30/09/09
      71.   new speak 16:35  |  kibishi 30/09/09
      72.   sh #50 - you are not fair . Have you at all seen .... 16:39  |  S 30/09/09
      73.   So IDF "philosopher" suggests terrorism? 16:54  |  Don Boston 30/09/09
      74.   The logic of the new philosophy 17:12  |  Apa 30/09/09
      75.   When an ethics code is required... 17:31  |  Walter 30/09/09
      76.   #60 Maybe Dino pull out the nerves of some 18:30  |  Ardi 30/09/09
      77.   sh #50 - you are not fair . have you not seen .... 18:50  |  S 30/09/09
      78.   To Jeff from NY 18:52  |  Otto Rand 30/09/09
      79.   # 43 seth of Deering NH 18:55  |  Waid 30/09/09
      80.   Ethical treatment of unethical terrorist impossible 19:06  |  Chaim Ben Kahan 30/09/09
      81.   Code 19:10  |  Dell 30/09/09
      82.   Just another cynical manipulation 19:25  |  RfaelMoshe 30/09/09
      83.   Definitely 19:42  |  Vladek 30/09/09
      84.   To Fist "Stop being childish" 20:18  |  Otto Rand 30/09/09
      85.   How CAN IIT CHANGE 20:57  |  TOBIA 30/09/09
      86.   sick logic 21:03  |  randall grant 30/09/09
      87.   MAUREEN 21:05  |  TOBIA 30/09/09
      88.   No37, Dino and No39 Roo: well spoken! 22:08  |  Ben Alofs 30/09/09
      89.   No 65 Roo. About Israel "holding back 7 years". 22:41  |  Ben Alofs 30/09/09
      90.   ethics code for war 22:47  |  a wandering Jew 30/09/09
      91.   Conduct in war is one thing 23:54  |  Outsider 30/09/09
      92.   Thanks for the (verbal) support, Ardi and Ben Alofs...:) 00:01  |  Swiss (Dino) 01/10/09
      93.   If Germany had won the war ? 00:11  |  kenneth widmerpool 01/10/09
      94.   Nonsense defending against ethics violations when fighting wars- 00:25  |  common sense 01/10/09
      95.   Nonsense defending against ethics violations when fighting wars- 00:38  |  common sense 01/10/09
      96.   #72 Tobia. What does history tell us? Religion is the culprit... 04:20  |  Maureen Ann 01/10/09
      97.   Maj Gen. Yadin is on the right track. 05:49  |  Jim 01/10/09
      98.   forget secrecy 06:09  |  Jim 01/10/09
      99.   #6 Jeff 06:24  |  Jim 01/10/09
      100.   Resistance to occupation is sanctioned 07:22  |  occupier 01/10/09
      101.   S #42... you have missed the point... 10:48  |  Esther 01/10/09
      102.   raphael 05:10  |  captain grumpy 02/10/09
      103.   ethics 05:20  |  captain grumpy 02/10/09
      104.   code of ethics 05:25  |  captain grumpy 02/10/09
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