The idea of the “moral indifference” of the law of war is based on the recognition that wars will not be eliminated, and that they should instead be limited and their horrors mitigated by universally applicable rules of conduct. Precisely because it is less ambitious than the principle of “just war,” moral indifference has been tremendously successful in mitigating war’s horrors by banning some particularly inhuman types of weapons, forcing armies to protect civilians and accord humane treatment to prisoners of war, banning annexations, etc.