Sunday, June 17, 2007

The Morality of War

Many believe that the war in Iraq is not a just or moral war.
I am wondering when is war morally justifiable?
During times war notice how much moral terms are used
such as good, bad, and evil. I see war as justifiable
when it is used for national defense. If there are any pacifists
reading I would like to hear from you.

Another issue concerning war is civil liberties. Throughout
history during times of war there is a deterioration of civil
liberties. People put up with injustices, for example detaining
people without a trial, because it is war time.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am not a pacifist as you requested but will respond. The war in Iraq is not a just or moral war. After the smoke cleared and there were no weapon of mass destruction, the Bush administration changed its mind and used it as a pre-emptive war to prevent terrorism. Even if they had weapons of mass destruction that was not a reason to invade Iraq at the time anyway Too long a subject to cover here. That stupid rhetoric was addressed by Abraham Lincoln over 100 years ago:
Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose - and you allow him to make war at pleasure.

Unfortunately civil liberties are compromised during war. This is not a recent occurrence. Even Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the civil war. As far as detaining without trial Bush just lost one on that two weeks ago when an appeals court ruled that he cannot detain a legal American who is arrested in the U.S. without formal charges.