Ground Truth

After twenty years of almost unbroken wars of choice, the ethical deficiencies in the operational conduct of war by Western armed forces, has largely been ignored by scholarly critique - this volume addresses these deficiencies. It features analysis by some of the UK’s leading soldiers, veterans and scholars working in the fields of military ethics and contemporary conflict. Individual chapters discuss problems ranging from the practicalities of how to conduct a counterinsurgency campaign in one of the most challenging combat zones in the world, to the failure to account properly for defeat during military conflicts, among many others.

The book addresses questions perennially raised about the role of the military in a democratic society and the extent to which its ideals are compromised in fighting wars of choice. Finally, the contributors look at remedies and solutions to these compromises by examining how previous generations faced similar problems and acted to solve them, and look ahead to see what lessons can be applied in a very different future.