Special Providence_ American Foreign Policy and How It Changed World - Walter Russell Mead

252 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

ing:Honorableenemiesfighta cleanfightandareentitledtobeopposed
inthesameway;dishonorableenemiesfightdirtywarsandinthatcase
rulesdon'tapply.
Anhonorableenemyisonethatdeclareswarbeforebeginningcom-
bat;fightsaccordingtorecognizedrulesofwar,honoringsuchtraditions
astheflagoftruce;treatsciviliansinoccupiedterritorywithdueconsid-
eration,and-acrucialpoint-refrainsfromthemistreatmentofprison-
ersofwar.Thosewhosurrendershouldbe treatedwithgenerosity;an
enemythatsurrenders,then at a convenientopportunity launchesa
sneakattack,haspassedbeyondthepale.Adversariesthatobservethe
codewillbenefitfromitsprotections;thosethatwanta dirtyfightwill
getone.
ThispatternwasveryclearlyillustratedintheCivilWar.TheArmy
ofthePotomac andtheArmyofNorthernVirginiafacedeachother
throughoutthewar,andfoughtsomeofthebloodiestbattlesofthenine-
teenthcentury,includinglongboutsoftrenchwarfare.YetRobertE.
Leeandhismenwerepermittedanhonorablesurrenderandreturned
unmolested totheirhomeswiththeirhorsesand personalsidearms.
OneConfederate,however, Capt.HenryWirz,was executedafterthe
war,convictedofmistreatingUnionprisonersofwarinAndersonville,
Georgia.
AlthoughAmericanIndiansoftenwonrespectfortheirextraordinary
personalcourage,Jacksonianopiniongenerallyconsideredthemtobe
dishonorable opponents. AmericanIndian warriorcodes(also honor-
based)permittedsurpriseattacks,themurderofcivilians,andthetor-
tureofprisonersofwar.Thiswasallpartofa complexsystemoflimited
warfareamongthetribalnations,butJacksonianfrontier-dwellersnei-
therwerenorwantedtobestudentsofmulticulturaldiversity.InJack-
sonianterms,Indianwartacticscompriseda dishonorable,unscrupulous,
andcowardlyformofcombat.AngeratsuchtacticsledJacksoniansto
abandontherestraintsimposedbytheirownwarcodes,andtheugly
conflictsalongthefrontierspiraledintoa seriesofgenocidalconflictsin
whicheachsidefelttheotherwasviolatingeverystandardofhumane
conduct.
TheJapanese,anotherpeoplewitha highlydevelopedwarcodebased
onpersonalhonor,hadthemisfortunetocreatethesamekindofimpres-
siononJacksonians. The"sneak"attackonPearlHarbor-actually,a
clericalerrorpreventedJapanfrompresentinga declarationofwarbefore
theattack--enragedJacksonians,alreadysuspiciousofJapanonracial