Battlefield Ethics, morals, and values are a strategic instrument and a combat multiplayer for any commander, service, or country. When proper battlefield ethics are applied a desired victory can and will be obtained. When they are abused, misused, or flat-out disregarded a destructive expectation will occur and the undesirable world backlash will result in a mission failure. The American people will be blinded by the fog of war and the public outcry can and will change the direction of the objective, mission, focus of the military, and government leader decisions. This will give our adversaries the advantage they need to turn the world opinion against our goals and objectives and a decisive win will be tarnished and potentially destructive in nature. This paper will examine Battlefield Ethics from the Philippine War to our current campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq; to the importance for leaders at all levels to know the problems and potential fallouts from improper ethical decisions on the battlefield.

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