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Just War

On October 3, 2002, gaggle of influential, supposedly religious people, sent a letter, now known commonly as the Land Letter, arguing for war in Iraq. The letter stated, in part:

We believe that your policies concerning the ongoing international terrorist campaign against America are both right and just. Specifically, we believe that your stated policies concerning Saddam Hussein and his headlong pursuit and development of biochemical and nuclear weapons of mass destruction are prudent and fall well within the time-honored criteria of just war theory as developed by Christian theologians in the late fourth and early fifth centuries A.D.

The letter was signed by Richard D. Land, president of the ethics and religious liberty commission of the southern baptist convention, Dr. Chuck Colson, infamous Nixon administration operative and now chairman of his prison fellowship ministries, Dr. Bill Bright, founder and chairman campus crusade for Christ international, D. James Kennedy, president coral ridge ministries media, amd Dr. Carl D. Herbster, president of the american association of christian schools. The letter purported to carry the weight of the SBC, largest non-Catholic religious denomination in the U.S. with more than 16 million members in 42,334 churches nationwide.

In summary (per Wikipedia, with links below), the letter outlined how a pre-emptive invasion of Iraq met the criteria of traditional 'just war' theory (my comments added):

  • such an action would be defensive
    (sure, like killing a snapping turtle on its back)
  • the intent is found to be just and noble. The United States does not intend to 'destroy, conquer, or exploit Iraq'
    (let's see a show hof hands... who believes that?)
  • it is a last resort claiming Saddam Hussein had a record of attacking his neighbors, of the "headlong pursuit and development of biochemical and nuclear weapons of mass destruction" and their use against his own people, and harboring Al Qaeda terrorists
    (a tricky statement; all countries have historical shame)
  • it is authorized by a legitimate authority, namely the United States
    (apparently the world put the U.S. in charge when nobody was looking)
  • it has limited goals
    (not according to the neocons)
  • it has reasonable expectation of success
    (not with the current bunch of bozos in charge)
  • non-combatant immunity would be observed
    (tell that to tens of thousands of dead Iraq civilians)
  • it meets the criteria of proportionality—the human cost on both sides would be justfied by the intended outcome
    (again, show of hands: who trusts christian math?)

Do your own research, and figure this one out for yourself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_war

http://www.iep.utm.edu/j/justwar.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_letter

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Land_letter

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Written April 16, 2006.