Deception always has played, and continues to play, a significant role in military operations at all levels. Nevertheless, its significance does not override the reality that deception, like so many other phenomena of war, is subject to limitations imposed by the demands of morality. Those demands include the imperative that military professionals act in good faith even with those who are their adversaries. Military leaders sensitive to this reality are far better equipped to use deceptive measures in a way that (...) minimizes their long-term negative effects than are those who ignore the moral dimension of deception. (shrink)

This article responds to issues raised in Ethics, Nuclear Terrorism, and Counter-Terrorist Nuclear Reprisals? A Response to John Mark Mattox's?Nuclear Terrorism: The Other Extreme of Irregular Warfare? by Thomas E. Doyle II, also appearing in the pages of this issue.