From: Erin Noonan (enoonan@kent.edu)
Date: Sun Oct 13 2002 - 05:40:37 BST
Hi DMB,
Okay i will try and post their reasons but i don't think
it will make your brain hurt any less.
This letter is not reflective of my viewpoint I just
wanted to put out a 'criteria' of a just war
and try to figure out what 'criteria' the MOQ
offers if any.
There was another article talking about
how it didn't meet the criteria of just war but didn't list
the set criteria so that is why i used this one.
For me personally though I wanted to say though that I was saying if Hussein
was terrorizing his people when is it right to step in if
ever? I put Iraq as an example but we can just do a generic
too.
Here are parts of the letter..its too long to post in its
entirity so if somebody wants a link I can send that too.
I don't want to be accused of a
taking something out of context (hi Platt) :-P
Specifically, we believe that your stated policies concerning Saddam Hussein
and his headlong pursuit and development of biochemical and nuclear weapons of
mass destruction are prudent and fall well within the time-honored criteria of
just war theory as developed by Christian theologians in the late fourth and
early fifth centuries A.D.
First, your stated policy concerning using military force if necessary to
disarm Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction is a just cause. In
just war theory only defensive war is defensible; and if military force is
used against Saddam Hussein it will be because he has attacked his neighbors,
used weapons of mass destruction against his own people, and harbored
terrorists from the Al Qaeda terrorist network.
Second, just war must have just intent. Our nation does not intend to destroy,
conquer, or exploit Iraq.
Third, just war may only be commenced as a last resort. As you so clearly
enumerated before the U.N., Saddam Hussein has for more than a decade ignored
Security Council resolutions or defied them while breaking virtually every
agreement into which he has entered. He stands convicted by his own record as
a brutal dictator who cannot be trusted to abide by any agreement he makes.
And while he prevaricates and obfuscates, he continues to obtain and develop
the weapons of mass destruction which he will use to terrorize the world
community of nations.
Fourth, just war requires authorization by legitimate authority. We believe it
was wise and prudent for you to go before the U.N. General Assembly and ask
the U.N. Security Council to enforce its own resolutions. However, as American
citizens we believe that, however helpful a U.N. Security Council vote might
be, the legitimate authority to authorize the use of U.S. military force is
the government of the United States and that the authorizing vehicle is a
declaration of war or a joint resolution of the Congress.
Fifth, just war requires limited goals and the resort to armed force must have
a reasonable expectation of success. In other words, “total war” is
unacceptable and the war’s goals must be achievable. We believe your stated
policies for disarming the murderous Iraqi dictator and destroying his weapons
of mass destruction, while liberating the Iraqi people for his cruel and
barbarous grip, more than meet those criteria.
Sixth, just war theory requires noncombatant immunity. We are confident that
our government, unlike Hussein, will not target civilians and will do all that
it can to minimize noncombatant casualties.
Seventh, just war theory requires the question of proportionality be
addressed. Will the human cost of the armed conflict to both sides be
proportionate to the stated objectives and goals? Does the good gained by
resort to armed conflict justify the cost of lives lost and bodies maimed? We
believe that the cost of not dealing with this threat now will only succeed in
greatly increasing the cost in human lives and suffering when an even more
heavily armed and dangerous Saddam Hussein must be confronted at some date in
the not too distant future. We believe that every day of delay significantly
increases the risk of far greater human suffering in the future than acting
now would entail.
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