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Chapter 4 - Reconnaissance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2023

Deane-Peter Baker
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Canberra
Roger Herbert
Affiliation:
United States Naval Academy, Maryland
David Whetham
Affiliation:
King's College London
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Summary

Chapter 4 examines reconnaissance operations. Reconnaissance seems, prima facia, to be the least problematic of the special operations mission set from an ethical perspective. Intelligence gathering is universally acknowledged as a legitimate operation in war and peace. Done well and according to plan, reconnaissance missions involve no loss of life and often provide information that enables more discriminate targeting. But reconnaissance operations conducted by SOF, ’special reconnaissance (SR)’, often involve peculiar moral risks. SR missions are typically carried out over a long duration, deep in unfriendly territory, and with limited or tenuous means of support available. If a SOF reconnaissance team is compromised, the consequences are particularly pernicious. Given that compromise could result in mission failure, national embarrassment, imprisonment, or death, are there moral limits to what SOF teams can do to prevent detection? For example, are SR teams ever justified in killing, detaining, or otherwise harming non-combatants to avoid discovery? Wearing camouflage is generally accepted as ethically unproblematic, but what about the practice of ’hiding in plain sight’ by falsifying personal identification, donning local garb, or even dressing in the uniform or distinctive clothing of the enemy? At what point does concealment of identity become perfidy?

Type
Chapter
Information
The Ethics of Special Ops
Raids, Recoveries, Reconnaissance, and Rebels
, pp. 80 - 117
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Reconnaissance
  • Deane-Peter Baker, University of New South Wales, Canberra, Roger Herbert, United States Naval Academy, Maryland, David Whetham, King's College London
  • Book: The Ethics of Special Ops
  • Online publication: 16 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009292061.005
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  • Reconnaissance
  • Deane-Peter Baker, University of New South Wales, Canberra, Roger Herbert, United States Naval Academy, Maryland, David Whetham, King's College London
  • Book: The Ethics of Special Ops
  • Online publication: 16 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009292061.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Reconnaissance
  • Deane-Peter Baker, University of New South Wales, Canberra, Roger Herbert, United States Naval Academy, Maryland, David Whetham, King's College London
  • Book: The Ethics of Special Ops
  • Online publication: 16 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009292061.005
Available formats
×