What is a "Just War?"
With recent events the focus of many has turned to war. Some state that we shouldn't go to war but pursue justice through legal means. Others insist that once America Airlines Flight 11 slammed into the north tower of the World Trade Center we were already at war, our borders violated.
Underneath this comes another layer of debate. Should we carry out surgical strikes and try to avoid casualties among civilians? Or are entire nations fair game because "We've served notice!"?
And religious people state that this must be a "just war."
What is a "just war?" Where did this idea or concept come from? And what relevance does it have in the twenty-first century and in dealing with fanaticism and terrorist elements?
Most scholars point to St. Augustine of Hippo as the formulator of the Doctrine of the Just War. Extrapolated from The City of God, the principles have been formulated into these eight statements:
+ War must be the last resort after all other possible solutions have been tried and failed.
+ The reason for the war must be to redress rights actually violated or to defend against unjust demands backed by force.
+ The war must be openly and legally declared by a lawful government.
+ There must be a reasonable chance of winning.
+ Soldiers must try to distinguish between armies and civilians and never kill civilians on purpose.
+ The means used in fighting the war must be "proportionate" to the end sought.
+ The good to be done by the war must outweigh the evil which the war would do.
+ The winner must never require the utter humiliation of the loser.
(Site for Conscientious Objection)
Ironically, in attempting to find such principles stated by Augustine I only found references to Augustine's book, and no principles actually spelled out. The principles, in a broad sense, can be found in the City of God, but there is no enumeration of principles for a "just war." This is the only reference to a "just war:"
For even when we wage a just war, our adversaries must be sinning; and every victory, even though gained by wicked men, is a result of the first judgment of God, who humbles the vanquished either for the sake of removing or of punishing their sins.
Thomas Aquinas spells out the principles in his Summa Theologiae. Thomas maintained that a war may be waged justly under three conditions:
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