"The Morality of Okinawa - Applying the Doctrine of" Topic

…"Just War"

"In any discussion about war, there is a vast gulf between the pacifist perspective that all war is wrong, and the realist perspective that all's fair in war, sometimes glibly expressed as just nuke ‘em and be done with it. In the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us "blessed are the peacemakers" (Matt. 5:9). Elsewhere, in the Sermon on the Mount, he tells us "if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matt. 5:39). From such verses, some have concluded that Christianity is a pacifist religion and that violence is never permitted. But the same Jesus elsewhere acknowledges the legitimate use of force, telling the apostles, "let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one" (Luke 22:36). How are these passages to be reconciled?

Between pacifism and realism lies the concept of the Just War. Judgments on war and wartime conduct go back to Thucydides and the Melian Dialogue [1] in his History of the Peloponnesian War.

In the Judeo-Christian tradition, there is the Just War doctrine of Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.) in the waning days of the Roman Empire. This tradition takes the position that, in certain cases, war is not only acceptable, but sometimes morally necessary in order to protect the innocent and avert a greater wrong. It divides moral judgment on war into two sets of ethical principles – those that apply to the reasons for going to war (Justice of War or jus ad bellum) and those that apply to actions taken while fighting (Justice in War or jus in bello)…"
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Amicalement
Armand

An interesting and thought provoking article. Thanks, Armand!

Interesting article

I heard a great lecture on the issue of Just War from Andrew Wilson from the Naval War College about Just War ante bellum, in bellum and post bellum – really made me think

Glad you enjoyed it my friends!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Very interesting and thought provoking

I'm too much of a "realist" I guess …

Happy you enjoyed it too my friend!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Regarding bombing Japanese civilians. Didn't they drop leaflets to warn them? Forcing civilians from the cities and then firebombing the city was supposed to severely disrupt war material manufacturing. With civilians living in the countryside, they could not contribute to the war effort.

The B-29's had already failed in their attempts to bomb Japan from China. With the failure of B-29's flying from the Mariana's ability to precision bomb factories from high altitude because of the Jet Stream, something had to be done. Gen LeMay was brought in for a solution. Why didn't the civilians leave when they knew any night their city would be firebombed?

Wolfhag

Huh. We talked about this 4 years ago. The discussion was, well, spirited.

TMP link

Yes I too remember this discussion on TMP. Got a little heated, yes …