Re: Just war (NJC) (PC)

[sl . m]

Lori, I was really thinking of Britain when I wrote that post, not the U.S. We (the UK) went into that war knowing what it might cost us, and knowing what Hitler was doing to the Jews (although at that point, there was no knowledge of a planned Holocaust). We waited until the invasion of Poland because we had a pact with that country. But long before that, Churchill and others in the UK were advocating military action against Hitler, even if the UK had to be the aggressor. And Churchill was condemned out of hand -- ridiculed -- for being a warmonger. Now he's a hero, even though that war was conducted in a way many today would say was unjust, because we had little chance of winning it until America joined in, and we committed atrocities like the bombing of Dresden. The interesting question is: do we view that with hindsight as a just war, and if so, why? And then, why not this one? What do we see as the morally significant differences?

Sarah


From: "Lori Fye" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. After that invasion, the U.S.
became "involved," but only to the extent that it approved the sell of
arms to France and Britain. The U.S. was still trying to remain
neutral.

It wasn't until December 7, 1941, that the U.S. "awoke" (ah,
that "sleeping giant," how poetic) and became truly involved in WWII.