Difference between revisions of "Just War Theory"
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| − | Just War (''jus ad bellum'') is a doctrine of war which teaches that a war is not | + | Just War (''jus ad bellum'') is a doctrine of war which teaches that a war is not valid unless it is just, meaning it is defensive in nature either reclaiming things stolen or to castigate an offending person. |
Under ''jus ad bellum'', only legitimate authorities can wage war for the right reasons (usually this means a defensive war) and only as a last resort if every other peaceful means to avert war have been used to no avail. | Under ''jus ad bellum'', only legitimate authorities can wage war for the right reasons (usually this means a defensive war) and only as a last resort if every other peaceful means to avert war have been used to no avail. | ||
Revision as of 16:53, June 21, 2007
Just War (jus ad bellum) is a doctrine of war which teaches that a war is not valid unless it is just, meaning it is defensive in nature either reclaiming things stolen or to castigate an offending person.
Under jus ad bellum, only legitimate authorities can wage war for the right reasons (usually this means a defensive war) and only as a last resort if every other peaceful means to avert war have been used to no avail.
War in Iraq
The 2003 Invasion of Iraq did not follow the historic traditions of jus ad bellum since it was a preemptive strike against the dictator Saddam Hussein from getting weapons of mass destruction. After the war had begun, inspectors did not find weapons of mass destruction, so the justification of the war has been questioned.