Alright, I'm going to try to take a stab at the criteria for morality when fighting in armed conflict. Please feel free to add anything I might miss as I doubt it will be comprehensive on the first go-around.
1. Any engagement of armed conflict must have a "just cause" -- in particular the protection of citizen's from physical harm.
2. There must be an overall demonstrated military goal and a reasonable expectation of success.
3. There must be explicit military objectives for each operation.
4. Non-combatants and civilian infrastructure should never be targeted.
5. Engagement should minimize harm to non-combatants and civilian infrastructure as much as possible.
6. Indiscriminate weapons should not be used where there is the presence of non-combatants.
7. Use of non-violent means (economic sanctions, etc) should be used where possible.
8. Ensure passage of humanitarian aide.
Its a start.
1. Who determines the "just cause"? The country itself, or the country and all it's allies?
2. Agreed. But, if this is your reason for going to war, then the Iraq war was an unjust one.
3. Agreed. See number 2.
4. According to the Geneva conventions, non combatants and infrastructure are off limits, but sometimes you've got to take out some of the infrastructure to drive your enemy into a certain area, so that is not always possible.
5. Again, Geneva conventions state as such, but, in the cases of what we had back in Viet Nam as well as the current situation in the ME, it's very difficult to separate combatants from non combatants, because the type of warfare those groups are engaged in means they blend in with the civilian population as much as possible.
6. Geneva conventions yet again. However, some of our current candidates for president want to "carpet bomb communities where terrorists are", regardless of how many civilians are there. Yes, indiscriminate weapons are immoral. Why do you think that the US has spent so much time and research on pinpoint accurate weapons?
7. Not applicable here, because sanctions are done by the diplomats and the political arms of the government, not the military. But yes, diplomatic means should ALWAYS BE USED FIRST when it comes to a possible war.
8. Ensuring passage of humanitarian aid isn't always possible, especially on a hot war front. Besides, it's not the military's job to provide aid, it's the job of the NGO's that follow the military into the war zones.
Interesting points that you brought up here, but you missed one major one, the treatment of POW's, and whether or not you would allow torture on enemy combatants. The Geneva conventions say this is forbidden, and that they must be treated humanely and given food, water and shelter while in custody.