I was not referring to whether a war was just or not, but to the condition of war whatever its origin. I agree that a war should be "just", but I suspect we have different ideas of what makes it so. I consider the Iraq war exemplary in its justice. As for the deaths of innocents, that is an objection to all war, which is fine, but if you are pacifist, you should be upfront about it. Otherwise, we always accept that collateral damage will occur, even when a war is just.
To me, it is always just to overthrow a tyrant, although it may sometimes be imprudent. Even if intelligence were faulty, Saddam was not in compliance with the containment regime and connived at giving the impression he had something to hide, and therefore we had adequate reason, from a security standpoint, to go in and force full compliance, rather than continuing the cat and mouse game. Finally, Saddam kept taking potshots at our overflights, to enforce the no- flight zones, which were, under the circumstances, acts of war. |
