Just War Theory
Felicia Melchor
Professor L. Strong
English 1302.23
16 October 2014
The Unjust Theory of The Iraq Invasion
The events of 9/11 sparked a new fire under the Bush administration in order to fight the war of terror. By 2003, The U.S. government had reset their sites on Iraq president, Saddam Hussein. On March 20, 2003, President Bush launched Operation Iraqi Freedom, and then later renamed Operation Red Dawn, and American and British troops fought their way into Iraq (Library). In “Summa Theologica,” Aquinas describes, “[t]hose who are attacked, should be attacked because they deserve it on account of some fault” (261). In this case, the United States government should have not declared war on Iraq, since it was not a justifiable war …show more content…
The Bush administrations failed meet all the requirements of the Just War theory, in which would the Iraq War not justifiable. The United States had no legitimate reason for the invasion. Aquinas comments on Augustine, “A just war is wont to be described as one that avenges wrongs, when a nation or state has to be punished, for refusing to make amends for the wrongs inflicted by its subjects, or to restore what it has seized unjustly” (261). Despite having good intentions, the US government lacked just cause which is vital in when using force against nations. In addition, the United States lacked sufficient evidence to the support the claim that the nation faced imminent threat from Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. In “Stumbling Into War | Foreign Affairs,” Rubin commented, that a French official acknowledged we would be dead already, if there was a significant amount of chemical or biological weapons were …show more content…
This was a clearly an unjust war from the beginning is now becoming more ambiguous. The US’s original plan was to capture the terrorist group responsible for the attacks on 9/11, not to invade Iraq. The Bush Administration had revenge on their mind despite Iraq’s willing cooperate with the United States in order to keep them from going to war.
Works Cited
Aquinas, St. Thomas. “Summa Theologica.” Reading The World: Ideas That Matter. 2nd ed. ED Michael Austin. New York: Norton, 2009. 261. Print.
Dodge, Toby. "The Causes Of US Failure In Iraq." Survival 49.1 (2007): 85. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
Elshtain, Jean B. “What Is A Just War.” Reading The World: Ideas That Matter. 2nd ed. ED Michael Austin. New York: Norton, 2009. 303.
Professor L. Strong
English 1302.23
16 October 2014
The Unjust Theory of The Iraq Invasion
The events of 9/11 sparked a new fire under the Bush administration in order to fight the war of terror. By 2003, The U.S. government had reset their sites on Iraq president, Saddam Hussein. On March 20, 2003, President Bush launched Operation Iraqi Freedom, and then later renamed Operation Red Dawn, and American and British troops fought their way into Iraq (Library). In “Summa Theologica,” Aquinas describes, “[t]hose who are attacked, should be attacked because they deserve it on account of some fault” (261). In this case, the United States government should have not declared war on Iraq, since it was not a justifiable war …show more content…
The Bush administrations failed meet all the requirements of the Just War theory, in which would the Iraq War not justifiable. The United States had no legitimate reason for the invasion. Aquinas comments on Augustine, “A just war is wont to be described as one that avenges wrongs, when a nation or state has to be punished, for refusing to make amends for the wrongs inflicted by its subjects, or to restore what it has seized unjustly” (261). Despite having good intentions, the US government lacked just cause which is vital in when using force against nations. In addition, the United States lacked sufficient evidence to the support the claim that the nation faced imminent threat from Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. In “Stumbling Into War | Foreign Affairs,” Rubin commented, that a French official acknowledged we would be dead already, if there was a significant amount of chemical or biological weapons were …show more content…
This was a clearly an unjust war from the beginning is now becoming more ambiguous. The US’s original plan was to capture the terrorist group responsible for the attacks on 9/11, not to invade Iraq. The Bush Administration had revenge on their mind despite Iraq’s willing cooperate with the United States in order to keep them from going to war.
Works Cited
Aquinas, St. Thomas. “Summa Theologica.” Reading The World: Ideas That Matter. 2nd ed. ED Michael Austin. New York: Norton, 2009. 261. Print.
Dodge, Toby. "The Causes Of US Failure In Iraq." Survival 49.1 (2007): 85. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
Elshtain, Jean B. “What Is A Just War.” Reading The World: Ideas That Matter. 2nd ed. ED Michael Austin. New York: Norton, 2009. 303.