David Underhill – 25 Oct to 29 Oct 04 (Week 10) – The Ethics of War

 

Monday: 239-254

The Justification for Going to War (239)

  • Even when civilians control the military they must consult it about war because that is their expertise
  • Performance is better when one knows what they are going to do, why they are going to do it, and believe in what they are doing
    • Example: Vietnam showed how a lack of these can destroy the effectiveness of an entire force
  • Just War Theory – the task of authenticating claims that war is a moral necessity in some cases
  • War and religion conflict
    • Christianity paints the picture of a non-violent society
    • Buddhism espouses pacifism
    • These things make it difficult for believers to reconcile the morality of war
      • US recognizes these people as conscientious objectors

 

Is it Always Sinful to Wage War? (Aquinas) (245)

  • Suggests it is usually sinful to wage war (not always)
    • Limits warmongers from using this as their justification
  • “Necessary Conditions” for a war to be just
    • Must be declared by a legitimate authority
    • Must be fought for a just cause
    • Must have the right intention
  • Other Conditions (by later scholars)
    • Must be a last resort
    • Must have a chance of success
    • Must be proportional to the loss required
    • Must be pursued through just means
      • Some believe this to be a separate consideration
  • Alsace-Lorraine – French territory Germans claimed should be German on a basis of language
    • Argues the people should “decide where their taxes and conscripts go” (in this case, they were loyal to France)
    • Once Germany annexes the land, the right of France to take it back diminishes over time because the people’s sentiments change
      • Though the standard for morals doesn’t change, people can change which can affect the morality of an action of a period of time
  • Legalist Paradigm
    • Domestic Analogy - states are a part of the international community possess rights like individuals within a society
    • Someone must be responsible for war – no war can be just on both sides
      • There are wars which are just on neither side
    • Theory of Aggression
      • States exist as a part of an international community
      • This community has law which establish a state’s rights (political sovereignty, territorial integrity)
      • The threat of force against a state’s rights is aggression
      • Aggression justifies two violent responses – wars self-defense and law enforcement
      • Only aggression justifies war
      • The aggressor may be punished (like individuals are punished for crime; for deterrence, restraint)

 

Wednesday: Bush’s Speech at West Point Graduation (2002)

  • The American flag will stand for freedom
  • “Our nation’s cause has always been larger than our nation’s defense”
  • “We always fight, for a just peace”
  • 9/11 cost the terrorists less than a single tank
  • Even weak states can cripple strong nations with WMD
  • Deterrence cannot work against “shadowy” terrorist organizations
  • Containment is not possible anymore
  • The war on terror can not be won on the defensive
  • “We will send diplomats where they are needed, and we will send you, our soldiers, where you’re needed”
  • “Moral clarity was essential to our victory in the Cold War”
  • “Moral truth is the same in every culture, in every time, and in every place”
  • “From here on, it would be the nation I would be serving, not myself”

 

 

Friday: 265-274; Bin Laden Letter

Terrorism (Michael Walzer) (265)

  • Randomness is crucial to terrorist activity today – death must be chance so that every citizen feels exposed
  • Terrorism emerged as a revolutionary strategy only after conventional use during WWII (bombing of cities)
  • Categories of people who are killed
    • Just terrorists can kill soldiers or immoral political figures (moral political figures are immune)
      • We judge the assassin by the victor – Hitler’s assassin would have been praised
      • “Even in destruction, there’s a right way and a wrong way – and there are limits”
    • Unjust terrorists kill ordinary citizens

 

The bin Laden Letter

  • US is the friend of Satan
  • Why are we fighting you?
    • You attack us
    • You think Palestine belongs to Jews
    • Muslim blood spilt in Palestine will be avenged
    • You steal our wealth and oil
    • You occupy our countries
  • We are men of peace just as much as Bush
  • What do we want?
    • We are calling you to Islam
    • Stop your oppression, lies, and immorality
      • You invent your laws (slap in the face of Allah)
      • Permit usury, intoxicants, immoral acts, gambling, exploitation of women, trading of sex, destruction of nature by corporations …
    • Discover you are a nation without principles
    • Stop supporting Israel
    • Get out of our lands before we send you back in coffins
    • Don’t support corrupt leaders
    • Interact with us on the basis of mutual interests