The United States did not begin this war as a last resort. Parko states, “senior people in the Bush Administration had already drawn up plans to invade Iraq before 9/11 ever happened” (Parko). Also, a wrong must be have been suffered. Many people feel that 9/11 was a wrong done unto us, however, the Taliban, not Iraq, imposed that wrong upon the United States. And finally, in a just war, “innocent people and non-combatants should not be harmed” (BBC). However, Parko states, “Over 50,000 Iraqi civilians have already been killed in this extended US military occupation of Iraq. Under the conditions of guerilla warfare, our soldiers cannot distinguish between combatants and non- combatants and innocent Iraqis are paying the price with their lives” (Parko). The war in Iraq has killed many innocent people, it has no justification, and was not used as a final option. It has not satisfied the criteria to be considered a just war. Works Cited
"What Is A Just War?." Religion & Ethics-Ethical Issues. BBC. 23 Oct. 2008 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/war/just/for.shtml>.
Parko, Joe. "Standing Against an Unjust War." The Nation. 5 July 2006. 23 October 2008. <http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060717/parko>.
Cited: "What Is A Just War?." Religion & Ethics-Ethical Issues. BBC. 23 Oct. 2008 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/war/just/for.shtml>. Parko, Joe. "Standing Against an Unjust War." The Nation. 5 July 2006. 23 October 2008. <http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060717/parko>.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Clausewitz, C. On War. Michael Howard and Peter Paret, eds. and trans. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989.…
- 1891 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The Americans knew they had the weaker ground, since they were fighting on unfamiliar territory, let alone the fact that they were battling with standard, traditional warfare against a new, unknown style of warfare. Knowing this, and knowing that they were on the back foot, president Johnson still issued the orders to proceed with the war. This means that he and his generals were willingly subjecting their soldiers to combat on unfamiliar ground, against unfamiliar tactics. It was essentially subjecting them to their death. Even though, they still proceeded, which is unjust to the American soldiers. Knowing they cannot deny the orders, the Americans had to use un-conventional tactics of their own. Leading onto the third aspect of just war that I am discussing, the means of combat used. Since the Americans had the weaker strategies, they decided that it would be completely honorable, and morally acceptable to pillage homes of those who lived in peace and had nothing to do with the war. Then they proceeded to resort to rape, and other unethical means of…
- 1694 Words
- 7 Pages
Best Essays -
The United States has been at war since its creation in 1776. It has battled confrontation 222 out of 239 years, just about 93% of its continuance. Notably, one of the most crucial wars is the “War on Terror”. Beginning in March of 2003, this war initially served the purpose of getting rid of the country’s leader Saddam Hussein to prevent his use of suspected stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. While this war was strategically justified the real war between Iraq and the U.S. began long before what is officially recognized. The United States of America should not have invaded Iraq as it promoted the illegal exercise of government power and democracy, encouraged continuous genocide and violence, and empowered an extreme capitalist regime.…
- 443 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
A review of chapter 2, 'The Crime of War' in Michael Walzer's book, "Just and Unjust Wars: A moral argument with historical illustrations." Allen Lane 1997.…
- 984 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
“Iraq, Vietnam, and the Dilemmas of United States Soldiers.” Opendemocracy.com. Open Democracy, 24 May 2006. Web. 7 Mar. 2010.…
- 1575 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The part of the just war theory is called jus ad bellum. There must be a just cause, right authority, proportionality, the goal of peace, with war as a last resort. A country cannot attack another country for more wealth or for more respect. They must attack on behalf of an innocent third country or group. Right authority means that war must be declared by the proper authorities and not by private companies. Proportionality means that the potential war must be assessed regarding the cost of the war and the benefits from the war. The country must also decide whether or not the potential gains outweigh the loss of human lives and the cost of the war. Next, “will the destructiveness of the proposed conflict outweigh any enhancement of other human values?” That means will the war any enhance aspects of the human life more than the violence that will occur during the war. The purpose of the war must be for peace, not solely to win glory. Finally, the war must be a last resort, meaning that all other methods for peace must be attempted before resorting to…
- 1545 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
Robbins, Mary Susannah (2007). Against the Vietnam War: Writings by Activists. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0742559149.…
- 16923 Words
- 68 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The reasons given for the original invasion of Iraq (Bush, 2003) mainly surrounded that there was supposedly "irrefutable" evidence that Iraq had, and was prepared to use, Weapons of Mass Destruction. The claim was that these weapons were an imminent danger to the USA. Once America invaded Iraq, and the initial success was replaced by a Vietnam-like war of attrition against an unseen enemy. The original reason for the invasion of Iraq was either mistaken or deliberately misleading, so no more soldiers should be lost in fighting for a war that was not needed.…
- 1010 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Our decision to invade Iraq was just. How the idea was sold to the American public was not, this in my opinion was the administrations greatest fault. There is no doubt that Iraq posed a significant threat to our nation and others and that its leader needed to be ousted. Whether the preemptive decision to invade was based on the belief that they possessed WMD is, in my opinion, inconsequential. Ethically, we know that utilitarians would evaluate the…
- 499 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Hedges, Chris. “War is a Force that gives Us Meaning.” New York; Anchor, 2005, 2-14.…
- 1865 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays -
I believe that the progressive supporters of the war have confused a "just cause" with a "just war." There are unjust causes, such as the attempt of the United States to establish its power in Vietnam, or to dominate Panama or Grenada, or to subvert the government of Nicaragua. And a cause may be just--getting North Korea to withdraw from South Korea, getting Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait, or ending terrorism--but it does not follow that going to war on behalf of that cause, with the inevitable mayhem that follows, is just.…
- 2986 Words
- 12 Pages
Powerful Essays -
According to Cornell University Law School" (2010), “plea bargains are agreements between defendants and prosecutors where defendants agree to plead guilty to some or all of the charges against them in exchange for concessions from the prosecutors” (para. 1). Plea bargains allows for prosecutors and judges to focus their time on more important cases. The way plea-bargains work with prosecutors is reducing or dismissing certain crimes committed by the defendant. The defendants part in a plea bargain is to give up information about the crimes committed, such as where were stolen goods are hid and how the crime was committed. The defendant may also have to confess to other crimes, turn in other defendants, and testify in court. In some jurisdictions prosecutors and defendants work with judges to work out a sentence for the crime committed. The judge always has the last say and rules on what he or she wants, but in federal courts, unlike other courts the judge does not have to take recommendations from the prosecution. Plea bargains have become somewhat controversial among society. Individuals believe that plea bargains allow criminals to get off easy with the crimes they committed. Just because a defendant is willing to confess about his or her crimes, it does not erase the harm and inconvenience it has caused the innocent individuals involved. Therefore, a defendant can only plead guilty to a crime and cannot plead or try to prove their innocence.…
- 1106 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Holtz, Edward A. “TO Kill and be Killed: Viet Nam – 15 Feb. ’69, 2 Nov. ’68.” Unpublished; Instructor class handout…
- 1048 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Next a look at what Utilitarianism is about. According to "Utilitarianism" (n.d.), “An ethical philosophy in which the happiness of the greatest number of people in the society is considered the greatest good.” Utilitarianism is based on a theory that what actions that occur by an individual or an organization is done for the greater good. It has been said that the invasion of Iraq in 1991 was for the good of the American people. The invasion of Iraq was never proven to be for the good of our nation.…
- 647 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The history of war is as old as the first murder.It is a heinous act which is usually performed either for defend,wealth or property.To those of us who are horrified by war, it is easy to say at once that war is never justified and will totally disagree with this topic. Nevertheless, there are some circumstances in which going to war are justified. Like the war against Jews by Palestinian, war against Indian army by Kashmiries is justified. So I totally agree with this topic that, “Is war ever justified.”…
- 500 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays