The majority of the city was inside the Citadel, a stone fortress constructed by the French during the nineteenth century that was situated on the north bank of the river. It was located on the Huong River, a major waterway that bisected the city. In 1968, Hue was a modern European-style city with a population of 140,000. The Battle of Hue (31 January – 3 March 1968) Yet, perversely, it is the CWC’s prohibition of RCAs that served to bring about this adaptation. Some consider this a flagrant violation of the CWC. forces allegedly forced insurgents out of their fighting positions by employing the toxic and caustic properties of white phosphorus smoke. They relied instead on high explosive munitions delivered by tanks, artillery, mortars, and air support, often destroying entire buildings to suppress or destroy a single enemy sniper. Due to the prohibition established in the CWC, they lacked a nonlethal method of escalation when they found themselves unable to maneuver. forces did not use RCAs during the battle of Fallujah. The use of CS reduced the need to employ high explosive munitions-which are inherently indiscriminate-delivered by aircraft and artillery, and provided a nonlethal option for escalation of force that undoubtedly prevented unnecessary civilian deaths. The Marines in Hue relied heavily on CS, a form of concentrated tear gas, to provide freedom of maneuver. In both cases, the unique characteristics of urban terrain often advantaged the defender and limited the attacker’s maneuver. forces employed during urban combat before and after the prohibition of RCAs. The answer, unfortunately, is that the prohibition has caused the military to adopt alternative weapons and tactics that are more lethal and less discriminate than riot control agents, and thus cause greater collateral damage and human suffering in urban warfare.Ī comparative analysis of the Battle of Hue (1968) and the Second Battle of Fallujah (2004) allows us to examine variations in the types of weapons and tactics that U.S. It asks whether the CWC’s prohibition of riot control agents (RCAs) as a method of warfare has saved human lives and alleviated suffering in urban warfare. This article contributes to the study of urban warfare by examining the implications of the United States’ membership in the Chemical Weapons Convention. Identifying less destructive methods could allow the military to wage urban warfare more humanely and reduce the associated costs. These costs can make policymakers and military leaders hesitant to undertake such operations, thereby restricting military options in war. The cost of rebuilding Iraq after the campaign to eject the Islamic State will cost more than $88 billion. The Battle of Mosul alone displaced more than 826,000 Iraqi citizens and destroyed over 40,000 homes. Urban warfare imposes high costs in lives, political capital, and national treasure. These battles resulted in large numbers of noncombatant casualties and left vast areas of the urban landscape uninhabitable. How will these treaties perform in the changing context of twenty-first century warfare? In the past two decades, the United States and its allies have fought several destructive urban battles to liberate cities like Fallujah, Mosul, and Raqqa from armed nonstate groups. In addition to considering how the Army should prepare itself, policymakers need to think about how national policy and IHL contribute to the military’s success in urban warfare.Įxisting humanitarian law was largely influenced by-and designed for-the wars of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Army to study urban warfare and consider how it might be fought in the future. This is an important question because, as the world rapidly urbanizes, there is an increasing sense of urgency in the U.S. This article examines how IHL performs in an urban warfare context. Such an assessment is both worthwhile and necessary. Yet, even dedicated humanitarians acknowledge that they are often better at devising new law than at assessing the performance of existing accords. The Dark Side of the Chemical Weapons Convention: Case Studies in Urban Warfareĭoes humanitarianism have a dark side? International humanitarian law (IHL) is devised with the ostensible aim of advancing humanitarian interests that is, to constrain the use of force in war in order to save human lives and alleviate suffering.
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