Tuesday, March 22, 2011

'Just War:' Unpleasant, but Not a Contradiction in Terms

Recapping what I said in the last post, I think war is not nice. Things get broken, and people die. I also think life is precious. Sacred.

And I think that keeping the boss of Libya from killing his subjects is a good idea.

Never Mind Who's in the White House

Remember, this isn't a political blog.

For what it's worth, I didn't vote for the current American president. I emphatically do not, and cannot, support many of his policies.

So much for internal American matters.

Libya, a Colonel, and Lots of Dead People

Colonel Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi has been boss of Libya since 1969. ("Libya," World Factbook, CIA (last updated March 16, 2011))

Quite a few Libyan's don't think he's a good leader. Many of them said so.

The Libyan colonel didn't like that, so he had them killed. That was, in a way, a quite natural response: I don't think most folks like being criticized.

Survivors still won't say that the colonel is dandy.

Qadhafi says he's the ruler of Libya, and has enough enforcers to back up his claim: so what business is it of anyone else which of his subjects he kills? Libya is some country off on the other side of the Atlantic anyway, and I don't know anybody there.

Remember: I don't think war is nice; and this isn't a political post.

"Just War:" During THIS Administration?!

I think that the American president may have violated some protocols. Members of Congress have been fussing about not being consulted. They may have a point, but that lot doesn't have a good record for being able to keep secrets. And that's a topic for another blog.

I also think that a serious, sober look should be taken at how this country handles national security. It isn't the 18th century any more: or the 19th; or the 20th. And that, again, is a topic for another blog.

What I'm discussing in this post is whether or not it's right to stop someone from killing people who won't say he's a good leader. Even if he's got enough enforcers to get the job done, and says he is so a good leader.

That, I think, is what we're looking at in Libya. And, for that matter, Bahrain. In my opinion. Bahrain's boss hasn't ticked off enough of his neighbors to make a coalition possible - again in my opinion - and that, yet again, is a topic for another blog.

"Just War" and Libya: Point by Point

It's not particularly hard to find a definition of the "just war" doctrine. What's hard is figuring out whether any particular circumstance fits the criteria:
"The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:
  • "the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
  • "all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
  • "there must be serious prospects of success;
  • "the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.
"These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the 'just war' doctrine.

"The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2309)
Whether or not acting before Qadhafi's enforcers killed the last person who wouldn't applaud the colonel was right or wrong is, I'll admit, a judgment call. Happily, one I don't have to make.

That won't stop me from thinking about it, though. Looking at the "just war" requirements:
  • "the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;"
    • I'm not sure how many dead people it takes to be "lasting, grave, and certain"
    • But dead is dead
      • It doesn't get much more "lasting, grave and certain" than that
  • "all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;"
    • This, I think, is a genuinely uncertain point
      • It's possible to say that the next U. N. resolution will convince Qadhafi to be nice
        • Or the one after that
          • Or the one after that - - -
  • "there must be serious prospects of success;"
    • Before the colonel's enforcers started wiping them out wholesale, Libya's opposition were winning
      • Without
        • A command and control center
        • Outside help
      • Some of the colonel's own forces decided to
        • Join the opposition
        • Leave Libya entirely
    • With an multinational coalition operating under a United Nations mandate?
      • Yes, I think folks who aren't on the colonel's cheering squad can win
  • "the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition."
    • This, I think, is another uncertain point
    • Not acting without certain knowledge of all possible outcomes sounds nice
      • But probably requires abilities that living human beings to not possess
        • Which brings up the nature of knowledge
          • And other topics
      • Divination, by the way, is on the 'don't do' list (Catechism, 2115)
    • My guess is that Libya could be worse off without Qadhafi
      • But not by much
      • And it seems that a fair number of Libyans are determined to oust him
        • Whether they get help or not

Can't We Let the Police Handle This?

I don't think that the death penalty is necessary in the United States. Bear with me: capital punishment connects to "just war."

My position on the death penalty emphatically does not come from feeling that rape and murder are okay. Partly, it's because I think that this country is able to restrain dangerous criminals without killing them. (October 2, 2008)

I think that, someday, maybe, there will be an "international authority with the necessary competence and power" to simply arrest someone like the Libyan colonel. (Catechism, 2308)

Until we have something like Tennyson's "Parliament of man, the Federation of the world," we'll have to make do with the United Nations. Or whatever's cobbled together after that.

I do not think that the United Nations is perfect. At all. But, for now, it's the best we've got for handling out-of-control national leaders.

And that's yet again one more topic.

Somewhat-related posts:Background:
This post is one of a series being written today:

No comments:

Like it? Pin it, Plus it, - - -

Pinterest: My Stuff, and More

Advertisement

Unique, innovative candles


Visit us online:
Spiral Light CandleFind a Retailer
Spiral Light Candle Store

Popular Posts

Label Cloud

1277 abortion ADD ADHD-Inattentive Adoration Chapel Advent Afghanistan Africa America Amoris Laetitia angels animals annulment Annunciation anti-catholicism Antichrist apocalyptic ideas apparitions archaeology architecture Arianism art Asperger syndrome assumptions asteroid astronomy Australia authority balance and moderation baptism being Catholic beliefs bias Bible Bible and Catechism bioethics biology blogs brain Brazil business Canada capital punishment Caritas in Veritate Catechism Catholic Church Catholic counter-culture Catholicism change happens charisms charity Chile China Christianity Christmas citizenship climate change climatology cloning comets common good common sense Communion community compassion confirmation conscience conversion Corpus Christi cosmology creation credibility crime crucifix Crucifixion Cuba culture dance dark night of the soul death depression designer babies despair detachment devotion discipline disease diversity divination Divine Mercy divorce Docetism domestic church dualism duty Easter economics education elections emotions England entertainment environmental issues Epiphany Establishment Clause ethics ethnicity Eucharist eugenics Europe evangelizing evolution exobiology exoplanets exorcism extremophiles faith faith and works family Father's Day Faust Faustus fear of the Lord fiction Final Judgment First Amendment forgiveness Fortnight For Freedom free will freedom fun genetics genocide geoengineering geology getting a grip global Gnosticism God God's will good judgment government gratitude great commission guest post guilt Haiti Halloween happiness hate health Heaven Hell HHS hierarchy history holidays Holy Family Holy See Holy Spirit holy water home schooling hope humility humor hypocrisy idolatry image of God images Immaculate Conception immigrants in the news Incarnation Independence Day India information technology Internet Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Japan Jesus John Paul II joy just war justice Kansas Kenya Knights of Columbus knowledge Korea language Last Judgment last things law learning Lent Lenten Chaplet life issues love magi magic Magisterium Manichaeism marriage martyrs Mary Mass materialism media medicine meditation Memorial Day mercy meteor meteorology Mexico Minnesota miracles Missouri moderation modesty Monophysitism Mother Teresa of Calcutta Mother's Day movies music Muslims myth natural law neighbor Nestorianism New Year's Eve New Zealand news Nietzsche obedience Oceania organization original sin paleontology parish Parousia penance penitence Pentecost Philippines physical disability physics pilgrimage politics Pope Pope in Germany 2011 population growth positive law poverty prayer predestination presumption pride priests prophets prostitution Providence Purgatory purpose quantum entanglement quotes reason redemption reflections relics religion religious freedom repentance Resurrection robots Roman Missal Third Edition rosaries rules sacramentals Sacraments Saints salvation schools science secondary causes SETI sex shrines sin slavery social justice solar planets soul South Sudan space aliens space exploration Spain spirituality stem cell research stereotypes stewardship stories storm Sudan suicide Sunday obligation superstition symbols technology temptation terraforming the establishment the human condition tolerance Tradition traffic Transfiguration Transubstantiation travel Trinity trust truth uncertainty United Kingdom universal destination of goods vacation Vatican Vatican II veneration vengeance Veterans Day videos virtue vlog vocations voting war warp drive theory wealth weather wisdom within reason work worship writing

Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.