The moral equality of combatants is a doctrine that claims all combatants, just or unjust, have the same moral rights, immunities, and liabilities within war. (McMahan 4) This doctrine is based off the idea that the principles of jus ad bellum and jus in bello are logically independent. This means as long as a combatant adheres to the rules of jus in bello, the principles governing conduct within war, they retain moral equality. It makes no difference if the side a combatant is fighting for violated the principles of jus ad bellum, or the principles governing the resort to war. (McMahan 3-4) This is the common view held by most just war theorists on the moral equality of combatants.
Someone who endorses the moral equality of combatants might
