Military Review English Edition July-August 2015 | Page 116

war, Lincoln articulated an ethic about the use of
force—he focused on the ends. Ethical norms later
took shape in the Hague and Geneva conventions.
For anyone invoking these conventions, or the laws
of war, Lincoln’s Code is highly recommended.
John Fabian Witt, Yale historian and law professor, presents an account of U.S. moral and legal
perspectives during the Civil War. The heroes, in
Witt’s account, are Lincoln and Francis Lieber—one,
a great president; the other, a barely known, itinerate
academic. Lieber, after being requested by Secretary
of War Stanton, and Stanton’s general-in-chief Henry
Halleck, produced a code of 157 articles linking conduct with the aims of war.
Lieber’s Code is “a working document for the soldier
and layman, not a treatise for the lawyer or statesman.”
Issued by Lincoln as General Order 100 before the
spring 1863 fighting season, it was not moral philosophy
in a vacuum. These were lessons learned during conflict:
“Laws of war typically come in the dismayed aftershock
of conflict, not in the impassioned heat of battle.”
General Order 100 established four red lines:
prohibiting assassination, the use of poison, torture,
and perfidy in violation of truce or treaty. It sharply
distinguished combatants and noncombatants. Lieber
passionately contended the aims, the ends, and the purpose of war form the final measure of ethical conduct.
He constrained war, emphasizing proportionality, and
outlawing “destruction greater than necessary.” While
specifying red lines, Lieber prioritized ends: seeking
justice, preserving, and protecting the nation.
From December 1862 through early 1863,
Lincoln used Lieber’s Code to shift military thought
and practice, which was inherited from Swiss
diplomat Emmerich de Vattel. Vattel’s The Law of
Nations long guided ethics and law in military practice—including the teaching of ethics at West Point
and Annapolis. Vattel’s Enlightenment framework
emphasized proper conduct. Lieber subordinated
conduct to the goal, or purpose, of war. Thus, swift
and extensive destruction was acceptable only if
necessary to advance a legitimate war aim. Lieber
adapted Clausewitz’s definition of war: a fight “to
compel him [an enemy] to peace at my will.” For
Lincoln, such a peace was an intact nation without
slavery. To rebuild a nation after civil war, Lincoln
counseled, “Let ‘em up easy.”
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Witt shows how law and ethics shape practice in
war. The law of war was central in debates about U.S.
policies and practices toward al-Qaida and affiliates
under Presidents Bush and Obama. Critics argue the
United States violated the law of war, or improperly cited it, as support for policies. Witt’s account of
Lincoln and Lieber presents dynamics of squaring
national practice with application of international law.
By deepening our conversation with voices from the
past, Witt helps us consider the ethical aims of war and
move beyond a “checklist” mindset that blunts moral
thinking about using force.
Col. Franklin E. Wester, U.S. Army, Retired,
Arlington, Virginia

HELL’S ANGELS: The True Story of the 303rd
Bomb Group in World War II
Jay A. Stout, Berkley Publishing Group, New York,
2015, 464 pages

F

or a reading public used to hearing a decade’s
worth of stories about MRAPs (mine-resistant
ambush protected vehicles), convoy duty, and
desert supply routes, a story about B-17 bomber runs
over Nazi Germany might at first seem rather out of
date; and yet, Jay Stout draws out a timeless story from
the air war over Europe. It is one that highlights the
universal themes of modern warfare: young men traveling immense distances in heavily armored machines ,
the loneliness of desert spaces, the suddenness of death,
and the loss of one’s closest companions.
Stout, an experienced combat pilot and accomplished author, delves into the history of the 303rd
Bombardment Group (Heavy), one of the most
storied units among the Allied bomber commands
during the Allied air offensive. He uses a balanced
mixture of first-person accounts and official military
records, providing an account that has a satisfying
breadth and depth to it. The story begins with the
challenges the United States faced in putting together
an air force—when only working with the rawest of
recruits and a minimum of equipment. Overcoming
delays and politics, the unit grew into its own and
eventually made its way to Molesworth in England to
begin the U.S. air campaign.
July-August 2015  MILITARY REVIEW