Article by WorldNews.com Correspondent Beverly Darling. -- There was never a good war or a bad peace. Benjamin Franklin It was a crisp October morning as I walked to my ROTC class. I had always found
Military Science fascinating, but today there was something different. The previous evening I had been invited to listen to a debate between
war and peace. I considered myself a Christian and was very familiar with the Just War Theories, but had never been aware of, or journeyed down the
alternative path of nonviolence. The history of pacifism and Christ’s Sermon On The Mount, including the ultimate challenge of loving others-even
one’s enemies, were nonexistent in my life or the surrounding culture.
My upbringing, like many Americans during the Cold War, consisted of total obedience and trust in
our national leaders. I was always taught that the greatest duty to our country would be to join the military and kill Communists.
After all, they were the greatest threat to the free world. Any day now the Soviets, and possibly Cuba, would attack us with
their massive arsenals of nuclear warheads. Things were so simple, so black and white. But now, my inner conscience had been
disturbed.
‘Sir,’ I asked Major Kennedy after class, ‘I know you are a Christian and do you
think you could ever kill someone in a time of war?’ As he hurriedly ushered me into his office and closed the door,
I realized that I had raised a troubling question. After discussing the purpose of the military, my commitment, and why I
raised this concern, he slowly began to talk, the tone of his voice becoming serious and sad.
‘I remember receiving orders to eradicate two Vietnamese Villages-where suspected Viet Cong were,’
he said, ‘in other words we were told to destroy and bomb everything that moved.’ Major Kennedy had fought in
the Vietnam Conflict and was a Captain of a gunship (attack helicopter). His voice now trembling and his eyes staring into
a distant far-off place he said, ‘I shot and killed men, women, and children, even all of the livestock in those villages.’
He shared that sometimes he would still awaken at night with the images of the women and children running, being cut down
and torn apart by fire. He admitted that he suffered from extreme guilt. ‘I pray to God every night for forgiveness,’
said Major Kennedy, ‘I just hope he hears me someday and that those images will disappear.’
I often think back to this event, for three things occurred that day. For the first time I started
to question U.S. foreign policy and the many wars and military interventions that our political leaders told, and continue
tell us, that we must fight. Second, I now understood that some wars, probably most of the wars in our historical war-like
narrative, have been unjust conflicts. Finally, I realized that most of us living in the Western World have been so indoctrinated
with the Just War Doctrine and continue to misinterpret this theory, that even when wars go wrong, we are incapable of acting
or thinking in Unjust War concepts and terms.
The acculturation of the Just War Doctrine goes back hundreds of years. According to the historical
records and writings of the early Christian Church, its followers were dedicated pacifists who literally followed Christ‘s
ethical challenges to love others and pray for those who persecute you. As Rome conquered new territories and imposed a harsh
military tribute of male service for their Roman Legions, Christians rejected the Pax Romana and instead chose martyrdom.
This changed in 312 A.D. when Constantine, the Roman Emperor, converted to Christianity. Since Constantine was a soldier and
believed in war, a new militaristic civil religion was introduced and combined with the Christian Church. The meek Christian
persecuted minority now became the militaristic Christian powerful majority. A theocratic religious state and its acceptance
of war had been born.
After Constantine’s death, when the Western Roman Empire was being threatened by the Huns, Vandals,
and Visogoths, many Christians began to stress the wars, battles, and the vengeance of the God of the Old Testament, while
neglecting Jesus Christ and his teachings of peace, justice, and sacrificial love. Saint Thomas Aquinas, and many other theologians,
were prominent in justifying the Christians participation in military service in the defense of Rome. Aquinas wrestled with
‘war with the hope of peace everlasting’ or ’captivity with no thought of deliverance.’
Thomas Aquinas would eventually believe that in order for peace, security, and order to be established,
it would sometimes require violence. ‘A Just War sometimes justifies military action,’ wrote Aquinas, ‘and
a soldier who goes to war in defense of right does not violate God’s commandment,’ such as thou shall not kill
or murder. The Just War Theory became an important belief and doctrine by many European and Western nations. It has since
been used to not only defend one’s country, but unfortunately to expand and conquer other lands. Thomas Aquinas’
misconstrued Just War Doctrine eventually resulted in the Christian Crusades that lasted three hundred years, numerous military
engagements in Europe and the Americas, WW I, WW II, and the current Global War On Terror. (It is interesting that the world
wars have been initiated only by ‘Christian’ nations).
Not every war is just, yet we often think and rationalize that it is. Therefore we must ask ourselves,
as we attempt to construct an Unjust War Doctrine, if the Just War Theory has been grossly over-exaggerated and if so, why?
Perhaps it is the theocratic-civil states and their belief that they are divinely chosen by God, therefore their military
adventures are sacred. It may be the concept of ‘sin’ and the natural depravity of all humankind, including one’s
enemies, that produces a type of hyper-fear and an imagined threat when dealing with others. Maybe we look at Jesus and the
Jews as victims, and this victimology spurs us to remain aggressive and hostile. Maybe we often confuse and replace God and
his will with our own materialistic wants creating a materialistic religion of domination and empire. Perhaps in our self-centered
and alienated industrial cultures, we are unable to empathize and understand other societies and their peoples.
For whatever reasons, the Unjust War Theory has been censored from the Western Mind. Just as Thomas
Aquinas issued several principles to support a Just War, I believe that we should begin, no, we must construct and embrace
the principles of an Unjust War Doctrine, not only before a war begins but even during a war, as in the case of the U.S. invasion
and occupation of Iraq:
1) What is or will be the cost in human life? Will or are innocents being protected? For example, on
September 9-11 3,000 people died. As a result of the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, over 600,000 people have died and 1.6
million individuals have become refugees. Are these military interventions proportional or disproportional to 9-11? How is
the war in Iraq affecting the children, women, and the elderly (we could also include the U.S.)? Was the No Fly Zone War in
the 1990’s and sanctions against Iraq, that killed over 400,000 children, worth it? Aquinas wrote that wars can be moral
dead ends.
2) Will and are the short term and long term consequences of a war worth the conflict? For example,
has the U.S. so isolated itself in the world that it cannot be a force for good? Has the U.S. provoked other countries in
starting nuclear weapons programs? Has the U.S. made its allies less safe? Aquinas wrote that some wars ‘in the name
of self-defense’ can do more harm than the war that was started by the initial aggressor.
3) How great are and will the costs of the war to the infrastructure and natural resources be? How
many years will it take to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan? Who will pay for this rebuilding? What is the material cost to our
own nation as millions of people continue to live without medicine, homes, employment, and health care? What is the damage
to the environment? Aquinas believed that in war God’s creation must always be considered.
4) What was and is the motivation of the war? Did Jesus and his actions condone and sanction war? Has
the justification of the U.S.-Iraqi war changed over time? Aquinas encouraged Christians to continually examine their conscience
and purpose.
5) What are the goals and the purpose of the war? Has materialism and the greed of resources replaced
the higher good of establishing peace and justice? Who and why are only certain U.S. corporations making money and getting
rich from the war? Aquinas believed that wars and the crushing tax burdens and divisiveness caused by wars could be a greater
immorality to the people than even captivity.
6) Were and are all means being exhausted before and after going to war? Is a pre-emptive war nothing
more than over-reaction or an aggression towards expansion? Hitler invaded Poland wanting to prevent the spread of Communism?
President Bush invaded Iraq to prevent a future attack by Saddam Hussein. Bush also invaded Afghanistan claiming to prevent
the spread of terrorism. Has it worked? Aquinas said that the injury towards a nation must be a real injury, not imagined.
7) Was and is the Empathetic Imagination been applied before and during a war? What are the Iraqis
experiencing? How would we react if we were in their situation? Aquinas wrote that even in waging war, the spirit of the peacemaker
should be cherished above all else.
8) Who was, or is, declaring war and still wanting to fight? Is President Bush competent or is he disconnected
from reality? Has he experienced the war in Iraq or any past wars, as the Commander-In-Chief? If a true democracy exists,
a leader must have the support of the majority of the people even during wartime. Aquinas wrote that war must be declared
by a competent and legitimate ruler.
9) Was and is proper intelligence and logic being applied? Did Iraq attack the U.S.? Did Afghanistan
attack the U.S. or was it only a small terrorist organization? Aquinas said that the Just War was ONLY justifiable after one
nation attacked another.
10) The final and most important point pertaining to an Unjust War Theory is: with modern technology,
the mass destruction and inaccuracy of new weapons systems, the amount of resources-labor-time-monies that go into weapons
and war, and the environmental degradation due to war, and especially the threat of nuclear weapons overshadowing the complete
annihilation of humankind, there can no long be a Just War Doctrine. Every current and future war will always be unjust! If
the U.S. has the moral courage to emphasize an Unjust War Doctrine, can it lead to the dismantling of armies and nuclear weapons
around the world?
It seems that as history marches on, the Just War Theory becomes more misconstrued and distorted. ‘My
first wish,’ said George Washington after becoming president, ‘is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished
from the earth.’ Compare this to George W. Bush who said, ‘We will export death and violence to the four corners
of the earth in defense of our great nation.’ The American Revolution was much more costlier and consisted of war on
America soil, compared to the 9-11 attacks. What has happened?
I believe that our Western Collective Psyche must completely reject the Just War Doctrine and the Just
Pre-emptive Doctrine and begin to embrace the Unjust War Theory in order to prevent future hostilities. Perhaps the above
Unjust War Filter-Grid will help, especially as we now find ourselves in two major wars and a possible third and fourth war.
As a matter of fact, the Unjust War Doctrine may be our only salvation. Just ask Major Kennedy who helped me recognize that
wars, even U.S. conflicts, can be unwarranted.
And yes, I sometimes wonder if Major Kennedy ever found forgiveness and experienced true peace?
Beverly Darling - Correspondent beverly@wn.com
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