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The Spectacle Blog
Mark Tooley and John Keown have had an interesting exchange about whether the American Revolution was a just war. Tooley correctly argues that many people, especially on the religious left, employ Just War theory to effectively oppose any war. Some wars are definitely just (I would argue Afghanistan was such a war). But Just War theory is properly intended to restrain the use of force rather than to come up with elaborate justifications for its use.
That’s what those of us who subscribe to Just War theory find so troubling about the right’s recent embrace of preventive war. While preemptive wars can be just, it is difficult if not impossible for preventive wars to satisfy the criteria of Just War theory. Why? Because they tend to deal with speculative and hypothetical evils rather than actual, verifiable evils. In addition to muddying the concept of who is the aggressor, preventive wars cannot establish that the damage inflicted by the target is lasting, grave, and certain; it also becomes hard to establish that the evils resolved by the use of arms are in fact greater than those unleashed by the use of force.
Consider David Frum’s recent defense of the Iraq war in hindsight. Nearly every argument he makes for it is speculative. While some of his speculation is perfectly plausible and reasonable, the fact is we don’t know if he is right about all the evils he believes the war prevented or eliminated. We do know for sure what evils the war unleashed — massive sectarian violence in Iraq, ethnic cleansing, the persecution of Iraqi Christians, an increase in the Iranian government’s regional influence, not to mention the lives of thousands of brave Americans. Not everybody on the right believes Just War theory is adequate to deal with today’s security threats in an age of terrorism. But when the logic of preventive war seems to counsel more war, it might be worth revisiting.
View all comments (10) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by W. James Antle, III
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/09/02/just-war-and-preventive-war
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Ken (Old TexicanVI)| 9.2.10 @ 4:46PM
AntleIII, TexicanVI here.
So, our Revolutionary war was a "pre-emptive war"?
OH!!!
You are talking about Iraq.
Yep,
"Bush lied-people died"
Well frankly, I would have been happy if our tanks had made a right turn at Bagdad and headed for Tehran. Tehran declared war when it interned our embassy personell.
Tehran now claims it is on the verge of punishing the great Satan.
So just sit on your tuffet miss muffet, to hell with the Kurds and whey.
Dumbshit, we are the cop on the beat in the world.
Why be five minutes late...when seconds matter.
Do you have a fly-whisk to protect your home and children?
...Somebody kicks in my door...they get a 12 guage blast in the face...
Uh...invading Kuwait was the kick on the door.
SIRJASON | 9.5.10 @ 6:31PM
When the attack upon the USA is imminent and the USA makes a pre-emptive attack upon the threatening Country...this is a JUST WAR.
When the United States of America has been attacked, i.e. the Afghanistan Taliban where Osama bin Laden planned the attack upon the USA and the President declares war upon the Taliban and approved by both Houses with unlimited funds to WIN the war...this a JUST WAR.
When the USA attacks a Country, i.e. IRAQ, who ignored several requests from the President to allow UN Inspectors to determine if Saddam had Weapons of Mass Destruction but continued to conceal the WMD'S or transported them to Syria...this became a National Security issue...the President atacked with approval from both Houses with unlimited funds to WIN the war...this was a JUST WAR.
Nick| 9.2.10 @ 5:06PM
Mr. Antel,
You have omitted the most important point: Operation Iraqi Freedom was not a preventive war, it was a continuation of Operation Desert Storm.
Saddam was the aggressor in 1990. He didn't abide by Just War theory. He was justly thrown out of Kuwait. To obtain a cease-fire, he made many promises.
After twelve years of breaking U.N. resolutions and shooting at U.S. and U.K. aircraft, Saddam was made to comply with the resolutions. He was adequately informed of the consequences of non-compliance. All he had to do was abide by the resolutions that he agreed to in 1991. He didn't and was forced to comply.
If the police announce that they are executing a search warrant, and the homeowner resists or threatens them, the police have the right to defend themselves while searching the house, don't they?
Saddam acted illegally in 1990, and he did so again in 2003. It was Saddam's decision to go to war.
fundamentalist| 9.2.10 @ 5:29PM
Not only are preventive wars a problem, even when attacked by enemy the war can be a problem because we can act in a belligerent way in order to provoke an attack. Roosevelt clearly did everything in his power to provoke the Germans and Japanese. We are too quick to desire war.
Ken (Old Texican VI)| 9.2.10 @ 5:44PM
Fundamentalist,
"WE who?"
Have you ever been drafted? I was.
Do YOU desire war? If so, may I suggest you were never in one.
Provoke Japan?
Dumbbunny, they were slaughtering Chinese by the tens of thousands...but SOB...it turned out China had no oil. The other natural resources they needed ...they just stole.
PS: they also killed a bunch of our missionaries who were in China just to help the people there.
Provoke Germans?
How can you be so ignorant in an internet world? Do you just put on your blinders and hate America? Welcome to Obama's Whitehouse koolaid brigade.
You, sir, are stuck on stupid.
Margie| 9.2.10 @ 9:28PM
To Ken (Old Texican VI) & Nick:
Both of you men are sounding particularly fine today. :^)
Nick| 9.3.10 @ 1:49PM
Thanks Margie, you just made my day!
Keep up the good fight for Conservative values and Christian virtues, and say hi to Victor for me.
God Bless!
Aleck| 9.3.10 @ 9:20AM
It was when I began to learn how the Iraqi Christian community -- my brothers and sisters -- was devastated as a direct result of our foreign policy that I began to wonder something that had previously been unthinkable to me -- could it be that we were not "the good guys" in this war?
Nick| 9.3.10 @ 1:50PM
Aleck,
No, it could not.