Collateral Damage: Americans, Noncombatant Immunity, and Atrocity after World War II

by Conway-Lanz; Sahr

• ISBN13: 9780415978293
• ISBN10: 0415978297
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2006-03-31
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Everyday on the news, we hear tallies of how many Iraqis were killed the previous day in America's current war in Iraq. Most of these victims are not soldiers, and have nothing to do with the war--they are just innocent civilians, caught in the cross-fire. They are the war's "collateral damage." This book is a history of America's attempt to reconcile the atrocity of modern warfare, only realized after WWII and the development of the atomic bomb, with the idea that killing innocent civilians was off-limits and not justified to win a war. Conway-Lanz considers both policy makers' responses to the issues, as well as the on-going debate by the public on their perceptions of war violence against civilians, starting after WWII for the most complete examination of modern American discourse on this topic.

Author Biography

Sahr Conway-Lanz is a historian and archivist. He holds a Ph.D. in the history of American foreign relations from Harvard University

Table of Contents

Modern War and Mass Killing	1	(22)
The ``Revolt of the Admirals'' and the Limits of Mass Destruction	23	(36)
The Hydrogen Bomb and the Limits of Noncombatant Immunity	59	(24)
A ``Limited'' War in Korea	83	(40)
Taming the Bomb	123	(26)
Korean Refugees and Warnings	149	(36)
The Thermonuclear Challenge	185	(26)
An Uneasy Reconciliation	211	(20)
Select Bibliography	231	(6)
Notes	237	(36)
Index	273