Iraq War

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Iraq War

• Just War or a War of Injustice?

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What makes a war just?

• Principles
• Just Cause
• Legitimate Authority
• Comparative Justice
• Right Intention
• Probability of Success
• Proportionality
• Last Resort

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Just Cause

• A real, lasting grave and certain damage
  inflicted by an aggressor on a nation
• e.g. threatens lives of innocent people,
  self-defense, etc.
• Our view
• There was a just cause to go to war. The
  rationale for the war by the Bush administration
  was that Iraq possessed an arsenal of weapons of
  mass destruction, which posed a growing threat to
  the US and the world. Bush stated that the US
  must not wait until the threat is imminent
  because they did not know Saddams intentions.
  No evidence was found of such weapons programs,
  but the US needed to defend themselves if there
  were such weapons. Other reasons were that
  Saddam Hussein could have connections to Al-Qaeda
  and human rights abuse in Iraq.
• . Score

4
Legitimate Authority

• The right to declare a war of defense belongs to
  those who have the legitimate responsibility to
  represent the people and are entrusted with the
  common good.
• Our view
• Bush was voted as President by the people of his
  country. This shows that people trust him to do
  the right thing in a time of conflict. Though
  people may question Bush and his motives, we
  believe that Bush fits the description of
  legitimate authority because of his rank as
  President.
• Score

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Comparative Justice

• The rights and values in the conflict must be so
  important that they justify killing.
• Our view
• The reasons for war was weapons of mass
  destruction, Saddam Hussein could have
  connections to Al-Qaeda and human rights abuse in
  Iraq. After the invasion no evidence of weapons
  of mass destruction were found, and in order to
  help human rights abuse in Iraq, other human
  rights abuse tactics, such as torture were used.
  If critics oil theory is partly correct, we
  feel that financial reasons are not justifiable.
  This makes us conclude that there was not
  comparative justice.
• Score

6
Right Intention

• War must be waged for the best reasons and
  commitment to postwar reconciliation with the
  enemy. Needless destruction, cruelty to
  prisoners, and other harsh measures cannot be
  tolerated. Peace and justice is the only reason
  to use arms. Mass extermination of people is
  sinful.
• Our view
• Though there was just reason to go to war, cruel
  and harsh measures are being used. There is human
  rights abuse that it going on.
• Some allegations included torture and abuse of
  prisoners at Abu Ghraih, the murder of 24
  civilians in Haditha, including women and
  children, etc.
• Many acts of injustice, needless destruction, and
  cruelty have been taken.
• Score

7
Probability of Success

• The odds of success should be weighed against the
  human cost of the war.
• Our view
• When the war started, the goal was to overthrow
  Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and occupied Iraq in
  an attempt to establish a new governmental
  regime. The attempt to restore order to the
  entire country was unsuccessful, and the number
  of deaths of innocent lives continues to
  increase. The war started March 2003, and now,
  over 4 years later, the war continues.
• Score

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Proportionality

• The damage to be inflicted and the costs of the
  war must be proportionate to the good expected.
  Minimum force necessary to obtain military
  objectives should be used.
• Our view
• Though we are sure that when the war started, it
  was not predicted that so many lives would be
  lost and that the war would last this long, in
  our opinion the Iraq war has failed the principle
  of proportionality. Though some gains have been
  made, the cost of this war has been high. More
  than minimum force has been used, and innocent
  lives have been lost.
• Score

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Last Resort

• War must be a last resort. All peaceful efforts
  should have been tried prior. There are no other
  alternatives.
• Our View
• The war was not a last resort. The United
  Nations weapons inspectors wanted a few more
  weeks to come up with peaceful alternatives.
  Hans Blix, the head of the UN inspectors
  commented about the possibility of there being
  chemical and biological weapons in Iraq, saying
  One must not jump to conclusion that they
  exist.
• Bush said the U.S. must not wait until imminent
  threat of weapons of mass destruction, but after
  the invasion, no evidence was found of such
  weapons.
• Other peaceful measures, and more research could
  have been done before the invasion.
• Score

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The Score
2
5
Therefore, we believe the war is a war of
injustice!
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Moral Standard Now That There Is An Armed
Conflict?

• Immunity of noncombatants
• Proportionality
• Right Intention

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