When People Kill People In Wars Why Don't They Get Arrested For Murder.?

Question

The definition for murder is when one human being kills another.

Answer 1

Join the military and find out for yourself.

Or just call it self defense.

With a question like this , you may not qualify for the military.

Answer 2

You are mistaken. Some people are arrested for killing other people in War and on Operations. These deaths are deemed to have happened outside the rules of War or the Geneva Convention, that the armies of most countries are bound by. War is not a free license to kill anyone.

The Genevea Convention talks of "collateral damage", and the fact that this must be limited. This is where civilians are killed, but it should only happen where the deaths are unavoidable. For instance if one army wanted to blow up a munitions factory that was working for an opposing army, there may well be civilian workers inside it. To blow up the factory would involve the death of civilians, but to not blow up the factory would more than likely mean the continued deaths of their own soldiers. A lot of the deaths in war can be attributed to self defence.

Sometimes though it is only self defence where the enemy wouldn't surrender. If you were told to attack a machine gun position, and they wouldn't surrender you would have to kill them in order to live - Self defence. However, if you didn't go toward the machine gun post then no-one would get killed. However, noone would be able to go past the machine gun, without being attacked. From the machine gunners point of view, he is only killing the people attacking him, because they wouldn't surrender, and this is his self defence.

This does go round in circles a little, but what it boils down to, is the politicians tell soldiers what to do, and the soldiers do it with as few deaths on all sides as can be managed. If the soldiers use too much force and there is too much "collateral damage" then they are arrested and charged with murder.

All of this of course does not include the fact that some deaths in war are not carried out under the rules of war and are murder. These deaths are and should be treated as murder and dealt with accordingly.

Answer 3

To answer your question, you have to look at what the Military Calls R.O.E. This stands for Rules of Engagement. The R.O.E. lays out in plain and clear English when a Soldier may use Deadly Force (Kill someone). If a Soldier uses deadly force and it is not authorized under the R.O.E. then they are charged with murder. So do not think that because we are at War we get a free Killing Card, we do not. To fully understand this watch the movie Rules of Engagement with Samuel Jackson. This is a prime example of how the R.O.E. works.

Answer 4

no it is not murder, becuase the objective is not to kill the enemy but rather to achieve the objective, whether it be annexation, fight for freedom, or capturing landmarks. Killing is the means to fighting a war, but not the ends of it. besides if this human being doesn't kill the other, the other will kill him, in war two armed people go against one another in murder, it usually a murderer and a helpless person maybe even innocent

Answer 5

there are such a thing of rules of engagement, like don't fire unless fired upon. Its not murder if the enemy is also equipped with weapons. now as for civilians dying thats a bit complicated, if you deliberately shoot a civilian its murder if one was caught in a bomb explosion or in the crossfire its just bad luck, that civilian could of been a soldier in which most people would say its ok he was doing his job, well its not ok. war is a way nations solve problems when talking fails, if your gonna say put an end to war, waste your time on something else because as long as there is mankind there will be war.

Answer 6

It's because murder is the unlawful killing of a person; acts of war are considered to be lawful. However, even during the war, the intentional killing of an unarmed civilian can still be seen as murder. As the trial of troops in Irag for the rape of the young girl & murder of the entire family has shown.

Answer 7

If you are going to quote legal definitions, it helps to find out what they are. Murder is committed where a person of sound mind and discretion unlawfully kills any reasonable creature in being, under the Queen's Peace, with intent unlawfully to kill or to cause grievous bodily harm.

There are several defences on the grounds of 'lawful'. They include self defence, provocation, an act in pursuance of a suicide pact, acting on a lawful sentence of death (not now available in civilised countries but it is possible for a trial to cover events elsewhere), and killing the Queen's enemies in time of war.

Answer 8

Murder is the illegal killing of a human being. In period of war, a country gives people the right to kill the enemy. So the law is amended to make killing the enemy in wars as not illegal. Hence you don't get arrested for murder since it is legalised killing here.

Answer 9

Very true but when you are employed to kill by the government it isn't on the same level. Murder is when a person kills of glory, greed, hatred, they know what they are doing and are not backed by the government. You must understand that without soldiers we wouldn't be a country, they aren't murdering they are defending. Yet that only applies to the winning country see, if you are on the loser side aren't you a POW? Prisoner of War? Keyword prisoner. I know what you are trying to say and yes you are right but what government says goes and they didn't commit murder to them.

Answer 10

Killing is the name of the game. Or it wouldn't be call War. And it is not the soldiers who should be arrested but the people at the top who order them to kill.

Answer 11

In war it is not murder, but the defence of your country. It is not the same as someone commiting murder in peace time. You kill to survive or you die in war.