Ethics & International Affairs Volume 25.2 (Summer 2011): Symposium: The Ethics of America's Afghan War: The Ethics of America's Afghan War [Full Text]

Jun 30, 2011

This article is available free for a limited time on the website of our publisher, Cambridge University Press. To access the piece, click here.


To address the concerns of those whose futures are at stake, moral inquiry into America's Afghan war must consider specific and detailed alternatives, not just "Stay or go." I will argue that the United States has had a moral duty, at least since the end of 2010, actively to pursue negotiations with the Taliban and Pakistan to achieve a political settlement, conceding control of the Pashtun countryside to the Taliban. This project ought to include ending the U.S. offensive in that part of the country and rapidly reducing U.S. forces in the country as a whole to, at most, a residual force for training, logistic and air support, emergency defense of cities, and closely targeted attacks on international terrorist operations. Every day spent on more violent paths has added to the toll of deaths and wrecked lives wrongfully caused by the United States in Afghanistan.

To read or purchase the full text of this article, click here.

You may also like

JAN 4, 2022 Journal

Ethics & International Affairs Volume 35.4 (Winter 2021)

The issue features a book symposium organized by Michael Blake on Anna Stilz's "Territorial Sovereignty," with contributions from Adom Getachew; Christopher Heath Wellman; and Michael ...

OCT 29, 2021 Journal

Ethics & International Affairs Volume 35.3 (Fall 2021)

The highlight of this issue is a book symposium organized by Peter Balint on Ned Dobos’s "Ethics, Security, and the War Machine," featuring contributions ...

MAR 27, 2020 Journal

Ethics & International Affairs Volume 34.1 (Spring 2020)

The highlight of the Spring 2020 issue of "Ethics & International Affairs" issue is a roundtable organized by Alex J. Bellamy entitled "World Peace (And How We ...