Since the advent of Precision-Guided Munition (PGM) in 1942, the United States has enjoyed an unrivalled military capability to fight the nations’ wars. The first elements of modern American PGM emerged towards the end of the Vietnam War, where the success of laser guided missiles had proven its value in precision strikes. Over the years, PGM has become deeply integrated into U.S arsenal for military warfare.
PGM has undergone several improvements and upgrades, the recent one using GPS satellites to pinpoint the target’s coordinates. During the Iraq War the United States used PGMs to invade Iraq, overwhelming Iraqi forces and capturing Saddam Hussein.
While modern PGMs have made wars easier, the ability of U.S. military forces to discriminate …show more content…
This is the issue with applying consequentialist approaches to ethics, especially with complex issues with unforeseen circumstances. However, it would also be unwise to completely ban the missiles pre-emptively due to the same reason. We cannot see what the consequences are for certain, thus we must wait to have sufficient evidence to support a claim either way.
The utilitarian calculation requires us to quantify the overall benefits and harms resulting from our actions and compare them with the potential benefits and harms of other actions. But it is often challenging, if not impossible, to put a number on variables. How do we go about comparing the value of money with the value of life or even the value of human dignity?
Perhaps the greatest problem with utilitarianism is that it fails to take into account considerations of justice. For this case, we can easily see how PGMs can bring about great benefits to the society by accepting the loss of civilian lives as collateral damage. This action would be justified by utilitarianism but it is clearly morally unjust to simply ignore the lives of the innocent who were caught in the
PGM has undergone several improvements and upgrades, the recent one using GPS satellites to pinpoint the target’s coordinates. During the Iraq War the United States used PGMs to invade Iraq, overwhelming Iraqi forces and capturing Saddam Hussein.
While modern PGMs have made wars easier, the ability of U.S. military forces to discriminate …show more content…
This is the issue with applying consequentialist approaches to ethics, especially with complex issues with unforeseen circumstances. However, it would also be unwise to completely ban the missiles pre-emptively due to the same reason. We cannot see what the consequences are for certain, thus we must wait to have sufficient evidence to support a claim either way.
The utilitarian calculation requires us to quantify the overall benefits and harms resulting from our actions and compare them with the potential benefits and harms of other actions. But it is often challenging, if not impossible, to put a number on variables. How do we go about comparing the value of money with the value of life or even the value of human dignity?
Perhaps the greatest problem with utilitarianism is that it fails to take into account considerations of justice. For this case, we can easily see how PGMs can bring about great benefits to the society by accepting the loss of civilian lives as collateral damage. This action would be justified by utilitarianism but it is clearly morally unjust to simply ignore the lives of the innocent who were caught in the