#non-combatant

Ännu så händer det mången stund, Då vid kvällens trevliga härd Man träffar från kriget en gammal kund, Att man talar om Lotta Svärd. Yet it happens some time and time again By the cozy crackling fire of even-wold One meets a person with tales from the war And he speaks then, of Lotta Svärd. (Loose translation by me, original by J.L. Runeberg) Short article on Lotta Svärd organisation, Finnish women’s auxiliary unit during the winter & continuation war. For Wartober 2021 prompt, ‘Non-combatant’.

Hey!

Does it still count as courage, Sir,

If I just forgot to care?

Sir, if I only noticed

Just now

That yes-that-was-terror

I kept moving through

Can that have been brave, truly?

Sir, yes, over here!

When I look at these pins and ribbons

What do they mean, no, I understand the colors, but

Why?

When it all came crashing down of course, Sir,

Of course I ran toward

Someone, something, I knew I could catch.

How, Sir,

Does that mean anything?

Do you reward breathing, oh

Yes, I suppose you do.

Thank you, Sir.

One of the books written during the Korean War that criticized excessive American use of firepower in Korea was called The Hidden History of the Korean War. One of the several charges that its author, I. F. Stone, contended against the United States was that the U.N. Command had demonstrated "a complete indifference to the welfare of non-combatants through its policies of bombing and village destruction." Stone argued that American bombing had ignored Truman's instructions to strike only specific military targets when necessary. Stone condemned "the scorched earth policy that U.N. forces had implemented in their retreat from the Chinese. He asserted that the military's press releases substantiated these charges of indiscriminate destruction. Stone pointed to the Air Force's claimed destruction of Sinuiju and the Navy's extensive shelling of Wonsan."

Introduction In armed conflicts, the civilian casualty ratio (also civilian death ratio, civilian-combatant ratio, etc.) is the ratio of civilian casualties to combatant casualties, or total casualties. The measurement can apply either to casualties inflicted by or to a particular belligerent, casualties inflicted in one aspect or arena of a conflict or to casualties in the conflict as a whole.…

What is an Enemy Combatant?

Introduction An enemy combatant is a person who, either lawfully or unlawfully, engages in hostilities for the other side in an armed conflict. Usually enemy combatants are members of the armed forces of the state with which another state is at war. In the case of a civil war or an insurrection “state” may be replaced by the more general term “party to the conflict” (as described in the 1949…

What is a Non-Combatant?

Introduction Non-combatant is a term of art in the law of war and international humanitarian law to refer to civilians who are not taking a direct part in hostilities; persons, such as combat medics and military chaplains, who are members of the belligerent armed forces but are protected because of their specific duties (as currently described in Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions, adopted in…

What is an Unlawful Combatant?

Introduction An unlawful combatant, illegal combatant or unprivileged combatant/belligerent is a person who directly engages in armed conflict in violation of the laws of war. An unlawful combatant may be detained or prosecuted under the domestic law of the detaining state for such action. The International Committee of the Red Cross points out that the terms are not defined in any international…