For those seriously interested in the topic of 'justified' military action, there is a clear, very well-established and followed (including by the U.S.) interna

For those seriously interested in the topic of 'justified' military action, there is a clear, very well-established and followed (including by the U.S.) international Law of War. The fundemental considerations are: [1] * Necessity: Does it provide significant military benefit? * Distinction: Distinguishing between military targets and civilians * Proportionality: One shot from a mortar does not justify flattening a town. * Humanity: I'm not sure of the definition, but think of it in context of "crimes against humanity". For an example of a serious analysis of a real issue, here's a great writeup of the question of bombing civilian trucks in Syria: https://www.justsecurity.org/28064/targeting-tankers-law-war-part-1/ https://www.justsecurity.org/28064/targeting-tankers-law-war... [EDIT: Added definitions to the terms] ---- [1] I'm certainly not an expert in this field, so my presentation of it might be not quite right in one way or another.