Counterterrorism, Ethics, and Global Health

The intersection of national security, foreign policy, and health has been explored in a number of arenas, but little attention has been devoted to the ethical issues surrounding the global health impact of current counterterrorism policy and practice. In this essay, we'll review a range of harms to population health traceable to counterterrorism operations, identify concerns involving moral agency and responsibility-specifically of humanitarian health workers, military medical personnel, and national security officials and operatives-and highlight two interrelated policy issues: the need for a conception of national security that incorporates a cosmopolitan concern for health, and the need for shared health governance, including governance of activities affecting health. © 2014 by The Hastings Center.