Just War

Nations have been at war with each other ever since human civilization has started. But since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11 and the following wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, renewed attention has been given to the issue of what conditions, if any, make a war just.

The concept of “just war” is built on the assumption that war is bad and should be avoided, but there also may be times when warfare is justified. Just war theories usually address two main areas: First, under what conditions is it right to go to war? Second, what is the moral way to conduct a war?

As for the history of just war theories, the ancient Greeks and Romans sometimes discussed the morality of war. Cicero (106–43 B.C.), for instance, argued that there was no acceptable reason for war outside of self defense which included the right to defend one’s honor. Cicero aside, Saint Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430) is often viewed as the father of the just war theory. Augustine was against individuals retaliating when injured, but he believed nations had the right to defend their citizens and to keep the peace. For Augustine, the primary purpose of a just war is to bring about peace.

Centuries later, Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) developed further the concept of just war. He asserted that three things were necessary for a war to be just: (1) The one declaring war must be a rightful sovereign, a legitimate leader; (2) The nation being attacked must deserve it because of some serious fault or injustice; and (3) The nation doing the attacking must have a good intention such as advancing good or stopping evil. More modern treatments of just war have included the ideas that war must be the last resort after all other options have failed, and the means of prosecuting the war must be proportional to the offence of the nation deserving attack.

Those who are Absolute Pacifists usually disagree with just war theories asserting that all war is immoral and never “just.” The presence of terrorists and the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction have caused many to rethink traditional beliefs about just war. President George W. Bush of the United States, for instance, in 2002, declared that new circumstances argue for the possible use of preemption—the right to strike a nation or group first to avoid attack by the enemy nation or group in the future.