The war on terror presents many ethical challenges to all participants. The main challenge is that terrorists fight through convictions that make conventional rules of engagements very inapplicable. Their rules of engagement are shroud in mystery, making terrorists difficult to differentiate from criminals. Additionally, some people are involved in terror directly and are therefore legitimate targets while others are indirectly involved and are therefore illegitimate targets. For this reason, the war on terror must involve a certain degree of ethical violations if it is to be won. Choice of weapons used during the fight against terrorism is the main issue that raises ethical controversies. Other ethical concerns include racial profiling, definition of victory in the war against terrorism, identification of terrorists,

The collateral damage caused by use of highly “effective” modern weapons by the U.S, apart from causing widespread uproar, breeds future terrorists who have no qualms about carrying out devastating suicide attacks. Countries that are involved in the war on terror led by the U.S, often shrug off this criticism. They mostly do this by asserting that they have to fight terror as long as terror has been pitied against them.

The threat caused by terrorists presents a tricky scenario where traditional war methods are not applicable. When faced with a threat of a ballistic missile attack, the traditional confrontational methods where tanks confront tanks and warplanes confront warplanes do not apply. In other words, there is no clearly defined front where opposing armies meet. The countries involved in the counterterrorism war have to use all means, ethical or not, to counter perceived terrorist threats.

Some of the counterterrorism measures used by the U.S involve profiling approaches. People may be profiled according to their color, geographical or religious background. This is unethical. It is also unethical to detain war prisoners for years without trial. A good example of this scenario is the Guantanamo Bay Camp. Many Iraqis were detained in his camp for many months without trial in the wake of the U.S-led war on terror that resulted in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Lack of accountability by one of the warring (the terrorist) is a major cause of impunity and commission of war crimes. In conventional cases, the participants in a war are countries who are bound by international treaties. The treaties define the rules of engagement that ensure that unethical practices are avoided by both sides. Since terrorists can be all over the world, and indeed are, the international treaties suddenly seem irrelevant.  Once one side stops fighting a just war in favor of unorthodox means, the other side has no option but to follow suit in pursuit of dominance and victory.

Perhaps the most fundamental ethical question relating to the war on terrorism is about the definition of victory. In order for victory in this war to be understood, the rationale of terrorists has to be considered. Currently, it seems that little is known about the terrorists’ demands that would have to be met in order for the war to come to a close. Alternatively, the demands that are often made often seem impractical and unrealistic. There is no guarantee that if the demands are met, the terrorist leaders will dismantle the global terror network that they have established. (Zalman & Jonathan, 2009)