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Chapter 3 - Recoveries

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

In Chapter 3, we turn to recoveries, a state’s efforts to repatriate its citizens held by a hostile power or at risk of being captured. Aphorisms like ’we leave no one behind’ or ’we don’t negotiate with terrorists’ seem honourable and even righteous. Yet military operations to recover either prisoners of war (e.g., the 1970 US Special Forces raid of the Son Tay POW camp in North Vietnam) or hostages (e.g., the 1980 British SAS rescue of hostages taken at the Iranian Embassy in London) typically involve significant risk to the rescuers, non-combatants who may be in the vicinity of a rescue operation, and even the hostages or prisoners themselves who are sometimes killed in the crossfire. Ethically speaking, how should we weigh those risks against alternatives such as payment of a ransom or a negotiated prisoner exchange?

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The Ethics of Special Ops
Raids, Recoveries, Reconnaissance, and Rebels
, pp. 53 - 79
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Recoveries
  • 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/10.1017/9781009292061.004
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  • Recoveries
  • 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/10.1017/9781009292061.004
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.

  • Recoveries
  • 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/10.1017/9781009292061.004
Available formats
×