I know this stuff is idealistic BS, but can someone tell me how it fits in any way with the US war against Iraq or Israel's wars on Gaza and Lebanon?
[from Wikipedia] When is a war just by the criteria of Just War Theory? (Jus ad bellum) In modern language, these rules hold that to be just, a war must meet the following criteria before the use of force (Jus ad bellum): * Just Cause: Force may be used only to correct a grave public evil (e.g. a massive violation of the basic rights of whole populations) or in defense; St Augustine categorised just cause into three elements which justified warfare ** defending against an external attack ** recapturing things taken ** punishing people who have done wrong A contemporary view of just cause was expressed in 1993 when the US Catholic Conference said: "Force may be used only to correct a grave, public evil, i.e. aggression or massive violation of the basic human rights of whole populations" * Comparative Justice: While there may be rights and wrongs on all sides of a conflict, to override the presumption against the use of force, the injustice suffered by one party must significantly outweigh that suffered by the other; * Legitimate Authority: Only duly constituted public authorities may use deadly force or wage war; * Right Intention: Force may be used only in a truly just cause and solely for that purpose-correcting a suffered wrong is considered a right intention, while material gain or maintaining economies is not. * Probability of Success: Arms may not be used in a futile cause or in a case where disproportionate measures are required to achieve success; * Proportionality: The overall destruction expected from the use of force must be outweighed by the good to be achieved. * Last Resort: Force may be used only after all peaceful and viable alternatives have been seriously tried and exhausted. Note that these are only the most typical conditions cited by just war theorists; some (such as Brian Orend) omit Comparative Justice, seeing it as fertile ground for exploitation by bellicose regimes. Conducting a Just War (Jus in bello) Once war has begun, Just War theory also directs how combatants are to act: (Jus in bello) * Just War conduct should be governed by the principle of discrimination. The acts of war should be directed towards the inflictors of the wrong, and not towards civilians caught in circumstances they did not create. The prohibited acts include bombing civilian residential areas that include no military target and committing acts of terrorism or reprisal against ordinary civilians. Some believe that this rule forbids weapons of mass destruction of any kind, for any reason (such as the use of an atomic bomb). * Just War conduct should be governed by the principle of proportionality. The force used must be proportional to the wrong endured, and to the possible good that may come. The more disproportional the number of collateral civilian deaths, the more suspect will be the sincerity of a belligerent nation's claim to justness of a war it initiated. * Just War conduct should be governed by the principle of minimum force. This principle is meant to limit excessive and unnecessary death and destruction. It is different from proportionality because the amount of force proportionate to the goal of the mission might exceed the amount of force necessary to accomplish that mission. * Torture, of combatants or non-combatants, is forbidden. * Prisoners of war must be treated respectfully. -- Jim Devine / "You need a busload of faith to get by." -- Lou Reed.
