Just War Theory
Just War Theory consists of two primary components, first determining if a war may be justly conducted (jus ad bellum) and how it must be conducted (jus in bello). It is based largely on the work of Augustine.
A liberal version of the Just War Theory, initially advanced by Woodrow Wilson, is to eliminate all war as somehow being inherently unjust. In practice, this approach promotes disarmament and capitulation to uses of force by Leftist regimes.
Jus ad bellum - Is a war just?
Under jus ad bellum, only legitimate authorities can wage war for the right reasons (usually this means a defensive war, or a war of defending the weak against a violent oppressor [1]) and only as a last resort if every other peaceful means to avert war have been used to no avail. A just war can only be waged if there is a serious evil that needs to be stopped. Further there must be a realistic chance that the evil can be stopped without starting a greater evil. If this happens the war reaches a just conclusion. A war started for just reasons and justly waged may still reach an unjust conclusion.
Jus in bello - How must a just war be conducted?
Minimum force should used be to achieve just goals. Civilian areas without military target should not be attacked. Force used should not be out of proportion to the wrong which the war tries to right. Efforts should be made to minimize casualties, especially civilian casualties. The enemy are also people.
Catholic Church on Just War Theory
Just War is a Christian theory of moral ethics that goes back to Saint Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. It attempts to delineate the precise conditions under which a War can be a called a Just War: "the task of just war theory is to seek a middle path between them: to justify at least some wars, but also to limit them (Ramsey 1961)." [2]
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "2309 The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy.
At one and the same time:
- [1] the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
- [2] all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
- [3] there must be serious prospects of success;
- [4] the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.
These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the "just war" doctrine.
The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good." [3]