The Iraq War and the Just-War Theory

by Dan Baxter

 

The Iraq War, or Second Gulf War, began on March 19, 2003.  “President Bush and his aides used Saddam Hussein’s alleged relationship with al Qaida, along with Iraq’s supposed weapons of mass destruction, as arguments for invading Iraq” (1).  Despite the fact that Bush declared victory in Iraq on May 1, 2003, fighting continues to this day.  On December 14, 2003, Saddam was captured.  The Iraq War can be broken down into four distinct wars.  “The first was the war to depose Saddam Hussein’s regime and create the political and military conditions for the possibility of responsible and responsive government in Iraq” (2).  This first part of the war was completed quickly and with few American casualties.  The remaining three overlapping portions of the war resulted after the first was completed.  “The second [was] the war against Baathist recalcitrants and other Saddamist die-hards” (3). This second war resulted in a high increase in the number of casualties for both the army and civilians.  The third war resulted as “Jihadists…flooded into the country.., whose aims included not only driving the infidels from Mesopotamia but also destabilizing the fragile Iraqi democracy they regarded as an offense against Islam” (4).  As we can see in the headlines, this portion of the war clearly continues its full brutality.  The final and fourth war is “between Sunni ‘insurgents’ and Shia death squads and militias” (5).  While the first war was concluded relatively quickly and decisively, the other three wars continue to rage in Iraq.

The Catechism is very specific in regards to just war.  Seven conditions must exist for a war to be just.  First, it must be for a “just cause” because of “a real and certain danger” (6).  It must be declared by “competent authority, those with responsibility for public order” (7).  Third, in what is called “comparative justice” one must decide “which side is sufficiently right in a dispute and whether the values at stake [are] critical enough to override presumption against war” (8).  Those going to war must have “right intention,” going “only for the reasons set forth as a just cause” (9).  War must also be a “last resort.”  “All peaceful alternatives must have been exhausted” (10).  There must also be a “probability of success,” which is meant “to prevent irrational resort to force or hopeless resistance” (11).  Finally, the idea of “proportionality” must be in effect.  In other words, “the damage to be inflicted and the costs incurred by war must be proportionate to the good expected by taking up arms” (12).  In order for a war to truly be just, all seven of these criteria must be present.

George Bush used a number of explanations to justify the war in Iraq.  “The war on terror will not be won on the defensive…We must take the battle to the enemy, disrupt his plans, and confront the worst threats before they emerge” (13).  This idea became known as a preemptive war and was a major change in U.S. policy.  Previous presidents had occasionally engaged in preventive war to eliminate an immediate threat, but never before had a President attacked a country to prevent a threat from emerging.  Bush used his preemptive war theory by claiming that “intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised” (14).  Although no evidence exists to support this claim as no weapons have been found, Bush reasoned that, because Iraq might either possess weapons of mass destruction or the materials to make them, in the future, Iraq could pose an imminent threat to the United States.  He chose to eliminate the threat before it emerged.  Another factor which drove Bush to declare war was “the belief that the technological edge held by the U.S. made the costs of war, if not cheap, then at least acceptable” (15).  Unfortunately, the United States now suffers hundreds of billions of dollars of deficit because of this false assumption.  By bolstering the threat Iraq posed and optimism about the cost of a war, George Bush was able to move the country to war with Iraq.

At the beginning of the war, its supporters used a number of political details to support their claim that it was a just war.  “First was the claim that [Iraq] was developing weapons of mass destruction in contravention of United Nations Security Council resolutions and, [second], was stymieing the work of UN weapons inspectors” (16).  Time revealed that, while Saddam was hindering the weapons inspectors, he had no weapons of mass destruction and was certainly in no position to develop any.  The Bush administration was mostly aware of this but “put pressure on the intelligence community to paper over ambiguities in the evidence on Iraq’s weapons and to make assessments that would bolster the case for war, and it exaggerated to the public the clarity of the intelligence” (17).  The other reason the Bush administration gave was Saddam’s links with the al Qaida terrorist network.  “Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell cited multiple linkages between Saddam and al Qaida in a watershed February 2003 speech to the United Nations Security Council to build international support for the invasion.  Almost every one of the examples Powell cited turned out to be based on bogus or misinterpreted intelligence” (18).  To this day, despite reviews, investigative committees have “found no evidence that Saddam’s regime had any operational links with Osama bin Laden’s al Qaida terrorist network” (19).  In fact, they have discovered just the opposite.  “Saddam was distrustful of al Qaida and viewed Islamic extremists as a threat to his regime, refusing all requests from al Qaida to provide material or operational support” (20).

Many Catholics who are proponents of the war cite the Catechism, Number 2309 which states: “The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good” (21).  In other words, the common person does not and cannot have as much information as those in authority and therefore cannot make as informed of a decision.  Without sufficient knowledge, it becomes increasingly difficult to make a prudent decision regarding the morality of the situation.  Many people disagree with this statement however because they claim that “under Catholic social teaching every person and group has responsibility for the common good” (22).  This statement is supported by the Declaration of Independence, which states, “whenever any form of government becomes destructive… it is [the people’s] right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security” (23).  Even according to our own Declaration of Independence, it is a person’s obligation therefore, to make moral judgments in some situations.

Many humanitarians advocated war with Iraq because of the brutality of Saddam’s regime.  “Saddam Hussein was broadly acknowledged to be a dictator who wasted the resources of his country, murdered political enemies and brutally repressed his citizens” (24).  These facts are certainly true and the Bush administration used them to convince the country to go to war.  It can be argued that “large-scale atrocities had happened, and they deserved a just response, [or] Iraqi citizens faced ongoing oppression and killing” (25).  While this is certainly true, the question that can be raised is, “Was the Iraq War a just response?”  According to the Church’s criteria for a just war, “a war would not be just if the civilians of Iraq were likely to be worse off afterward” (26).  Today, after Saddam’s fall, Iraq is plagued with terrorism and chaos.  While it is true there have been free elections, the country has become the breeding-grounds for terrorists and violence has actually increased.  Whether the citizens of Iraq are better off now than they were under Saddam is debatable although it cannot be denied that Saddam was a terribly unjust leader.

Church leaders along with people around the world posed numerous arguments against Iraq as a just war.  “The church’s familiar guidelines allow for a just war only if all other alternatives for redressing a wrong are exhausted” (27).  Many who are against the war would argue that not all other options were tried because George Bush does not negotiate with terrorists.  The just-war teaching is used by the Church as “an effort to prevent war” (28).  Many claim that George Bush used the just-war theory as an excuse to go to war with Iraq and did not give other options a chance before resorting to it.  Because he may not have tried all other options first, he may have violated the just-war theory, thus making the Iraq War unjust.

Pope John Paul II himself very specifically declared that a war in Iraq would not be just.  Following the 9/11 attacks, Pope John Paul II “prayed that Americans would ‘resist the temptation to hatred and violence’” (29).  Pope John Paul II prayed that the United States would not result to violence in what became George Bush’s “war on terror.”  The Pope sent an emissary to President Bush in 2003 stating the Vatican and the Council of Bishops’ position on the war.  John Paul II emphasized how he hoped a solution to the issue in Iraq could be “pursued within the framework of the United Nations” (30).  In addition, the Pope emphasized that other options needed to be tried before resorting to war.  “There are still peaceful avenues within the context of the vast patrimony of international law and institutions which exist for that purpose” (31).  In the end that war became inevitable, the Pope reminded the President that, for the decision to be just, it “can only be taken within the framework of the United Nations” (32).  Pope John Paul II regarded the United Nations very highly despite its flaws and therefore believed that only with the consent of the United Nations, representing the international community, could a war be just.  Finally, Pope John Paul II pleaded for the President to “always [take] into account the grave consequences of such an armed conflict: the suffering of the people of Iraq and those involved in the military operation, a further instability in the region and a new gulf between Islam and Christianity” (33).  Despite these warnings from Pope John Paul II, President Bush chose to declare war on Iraq.

Pope John XXIII declared in his 1963 encyclical, “Pacem en Terris, that it was now unreasonable to consider war a useful tool to correct injustice” (34).  Because of the horrors which humanities advances in technology were now able to produce and the scale at which we had become able to slaughter, John declared that war could no longer be used as a method to end injustice because it was in itself so atrocious.

The American Council of Bishops also was very much opposed to a war in Iraq.  “Just two months after 9/11, the American bishops insisted that ‘the traditional moral norms governing the use of force still apply, even in the face of terrorism on this scale” (35).  This statement emphasizes that, simply because of the extremity of events, the Church’s position on war has not changed.  George Bush on the other hand said that what qualified a just war had changed since 9/11.  They also “affirmed that our nation ‘has a moral right and a grave obligation to defend the common good against mass terrorism,’ but also the obligation to address the non-military issues of poverty, injustice, and humanitarian crises that terrorists exploit” (36).  The bishops declared that the United States cannot be so distracted by attacking terrorism that it forgets to attend to the very issues which we claim to be fighting for.

It is also important to note that the Iraq War is a preemptive war.  “The just war tradition has long allowed [preventive] attacks in the face of an immediate threat, viewing such attacks as in the category of self-defense, …but the just cause argument has never been used to defend a [preemptive] war-a war to preclude a future threat from emerging” (37).  Bush originally used the argument that it was a preemptive war because Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction made it a possible threat.  These weapons, as it turned out, did not exist.  He claimed that, in a post-9/11 world, the idea of warfare and what was just changed.  Bush used this reasoning to justify his preemptive warfare theory.  Many argue however that the chaos which we now see in the Middle East has put an end to the preemptive war theory which Bush presented.

“Just-war thinking is usually taken to include the moral analysis of the ius ad bellum (war-decision law) and the ius in bello (war-conduct law),” but it also includes the ius post bellum, or aftermath (38).  Another way to look at it is the morality of the war before, during, and after.  “Ad bellum” and “in bello” judge the morality of the invasion itself and the conduct of the war following.  Many people argue both sides of these two issues.  However, the third issue is much different.  “Ius post bellum must now be employed to judge the morality of a military occupation that continues after the original military objective has been achieved” (39).  Our original objective was to overthrow Saddam Hussein because we believed he was producing weapons of mass destruction.  Now that we have achieved that goal, ius post bellum must be employed.  Many who argue against the war use this criterion.  Because the citizens of Iraq do not appear to want the United States occupation to continue, our continuing occupation of Iraq is unjust thus making the war itself unjust.  “It can be said that the Bush administration engaged in wishful thinking rather than careful planning about the postwar future” (40).  Instead of adequately preparing for the postwar dilemmas, the administration simply went in without an adequate post-war plan, hoping everything would turn out alright.  Some blame this for the chaos we now see in Iraq.

 

(1)        Warren P Strobel, 10 March 2008, “Exhaustive review finds no link between Saddam and al Qaida,” McClatchy Newspapers, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Internet, April 2, 2008, Available, http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/v-print/story/29959.html.

(2)        George Weigel, April 2007, “Just War and Iraq Wars,” First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion & Public Life Issue 172: 14-20, Religion and Philosophy Collection, EBSCOhost, Internet, February 13, 2008, p. 15.

(3)        Weigel, p. 15.

(4)        Weigel, p. 15.

(5)        Weigel, p. 15.

(6)        “When Is War Justified?” AmericanCatholic.org, Internet, March 8, 2008, Available, http://www.americancatholic.org/News/JustWar/justwar.asp.

(7)        “When Is War Justified?”

(8)        “When Is War Justified?”

(9)        “When Is War Justified?”

(10)      “When Is War Justified?”

(11)      “When Is War Justified?”

(12)      “When Is War Justified?”

(13)      George Bush quoted by “The Preemptive-War Doctrine has Met an Early Death in Iraq,” Brookings, May 30, 2004, Internet, March 8, 2008, Available, http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2004/0530iraq_daalder.aspx.

(14)      George Bush quoted by “The Preemptive-War Doctrine…”

(15)      “The Preemptive-War Doctrine…”

(16)      Brian Stiltner, 12 December 2006, “Just war: Second thoughts on Iraq,” Christian Century Vol. 123, Issue 25: 34-35, Religion and Philosophy Collection, EBSCOhost, Internet, February 13, 2008, p. 34.

(17)      Stiltner, p. 34.

(18)      Strobel.

(19)      Strobel.

(20)      Strobel.

(21)      Drew Christiansen, 15 November 2004, “Of Many Things,” America Vol. 191, Issue 15: 2, Religion and Philosophy Collection, EBSCOhost, Internet, February 13, 2008, p. 2.

(22)      Christiansen, p. 2.

(23)      The United States Declaration of Independence.

(24)      Stiltner, p. 34.

(25)      Stiltner, p. 34.

(26)      Stiltner, p. 34.

(27)      Jim Dinn, February 2007, “What Does the Catholic Church Teach About the War on Terror?” U.S. Catholic Vol. 72, Issue 2: 41, Religion and Philosophy Collection, EBSCOhost, Internet, February 13, 2008, p. 41.

(28)      Dinn, p. 41.

(29)      Dinn, p. 41.

(30)      Cardinal Pio Laghi, 5 March 2003, “Statement of Cardinal Pio Laghi, Special Envoy of John Paul II, To President George Bush,” The Holy See, Internet, March 8, 2008, Available, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/special_features/peace/documents/peace_20030306_card-laghi-usa-meeting_en.html.

(31)      Laghi.

(32)      Laghi.

(33)      Laghi.

(34)      Dinn, p. 41.

(35)      Dinn, p. 41.

(36)      Dinn, p. 41.

(37)      Stiltner, p. 34.

(38)      Weigel, p. 14.

(39)      Cronelius F Murphy Jr., 2 November 2007, “The Role of International Moral Authority in Iraq,” America Vol. 197, Issue 1: 18-20, Religion and Philosophy Collection, EBSCOhost, Internet, February 13, 2008, p. 18.

 

Christiansen, Drew. 15 November 2004. “Of Many Things.” America Vol. 191, Issue 15: 2. Religion and Philosophy Collection, EBSCOhost. Internet. February 13, 2008.

Dinn, Jim. February 2007. “What Does the Catholic Church Teach About the War on Terror?” U.S. Catholic Vol. 72, Issue 2: 41. Religion and Philosophy Collection, EBSCOhost. Internet. February 13, 2008.

Laghi, Cardinal Pio. 5 March 2003. “Statement of Cardinal Pio Laghi, Special Envoy of John Paul II, To President George Bush.” The Holy See. Internet. March 8, 2008. Available.http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/special_features/peace/documents/peace_20030306_card-laghi-usa-meeting_en.html.

Murphy Jr., Cronelius F. 2 November 2007. “The Role of International Moral Authority in Iraq.” America Vol. 197, Issue 1: 18-20. Religion and Philosophy Collection, EBSCOhost. Internet. February 13, 2008.

“The Preemptive-War Doctrine has Met an Early Death in Iraq.” Brookings. May 30, 2004. Internet. March 8, 2008. Available. http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2004/0530iraq_daalder.aspx.

Stiltner, Brian. 12 December 2006. “Just war: Second thoughts on Iraq.” Christian Century Vol. 123, Issue 25: 34-35. Religion and Philosophy Collection, EBSCOhost. Internet. February 13, 2008.

Strobel, Warren P. 10 March 2008. “Exhaustive review finds no link between Saddam and al Qaida.” McClatchy Newspapers. McClatchy Washington Bureau. Internet. April 2, 2008. Available. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/v-print/story/29959.html.

Weigel, George. April 2007. “Just War and Iraq Wars.” First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion & Public Life Issue 172: 14-20. Religion and Philosophy Collection, EBSCOhost. Internet. February 13, 2008.

“When Is War Justified?” AmericanCatholic.org. Internet. March 8, 2008. Available. http://www.americancatholic.org/News/JustWar/justwar.asp.