The Just War Theory and the War in Iraq
The current war in Iraq cannot be justified with the Just War Theory. Under this theory a war must meet specific criteria in resorting to war in the first place, in the conduct within the war once it has started, and in the termination phase of the war in order to be deemed justified. While the war in Iraq does meet some of the criteria, it leaves other unfulfilled. According to the Just War Theory, a war must leave no aspect unanswered if it is to be justified. There are six requirements for any resort to war to be justified: just cause, right intention, proper authority and public declaration, last resort, probability of success, and proportionality. We, the USA, did have just cause for going to war in that we were protecting the innocent Iraqi people from Sadam Hussein. Although this may be a just cause for intending to fight a war, it was not our only one. By going to war our government also intended to protect our oi
" Therefore, the war in Iraq did not have the right intention. On the other hand, the war was made public to both US citizens and to Iraq, as stipulated in the Just War Theory. In the midst of battle, the Just War Theory states that there are three rules that must be followed in order for a war to be considered just. " The ulterior motive to protect our country's supply of oil is not "morally appropriate. The third and final rule is called "No Means Mala in Se" which means soldiers may not use weapons or methods that are evil in themselves. Because of this, the war is not and cannot be considered justified. In this case Congress never declared war on Iraq, and in fact has not declared war since WWII. When we resorted to war we could foresee that by doing so we would have a measurable impact on the situation. On the other hand, the war in Iraq does meet the requirements for probability of success and for proportionality. Also, before we began the war, we saw that the good expected to result would be greater than the evils and costs of fighting. Unfortunately, there has been speculation that we have broken this rule in the form of torturing captured enemy soldiers. Again, the US has obeyed the Just War Theory, in that our soldiers have used force that is proportional to the end that we seek. According to the Just War Theory, "having the right reason for launching a war is not enough: the actual motivation behind the resort to war must also be morally appropriate. The war does meet some of the standards of a justifiable war, but the Just War Theory makes it very clear that all criteria must be fulfilled.
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