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Politics : Stop the War! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (5037)	3/29/2003 5:45:18 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21614

President G.W. Bush, a born-again Jew? March 28, 2003, 9:30 a.m. Maimonides on War A religious tradition that President Bush might appreciate. By David Klinghoffer For George W. Bush, a passionate Christian, there must be some frustration in the fact that American Christian churches have overwhelmingly opposed the present war. From the Episcopal, United Methodist, and Presbyterian Churches, to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, it's hard to find a major denomination (Southern Baptists excepted) that didn't come out against military action. So Mr. Bush may take comfort in knowing that one other religious tradition would lend unequivocal support to giving him maximum freedom to make war as he sees fit. I refer to Jewish tradition. If Christians look for guidance on the morality of war to the 13th-century scholar St. Thomas Aquinas, Judaism directs our attention to Moses Maimonides, who lived a century earlier. In his Mishneh Torah, Maimonides summarizes the teachings of the Talmud and Mishnah, works that clarify the dictates stated or alluded to in the Bible. In the section of the Mishneh Torah called "The Laws of Kings and Their Wars," he offers bracing clarity. The nation's leader - its "king," though we may substitute the word "president" - has a simple role: "to execute justice and conduct warfare." To be sure, this leader's intention must always be "for the sake of Heaven." In this model the king heads a country that stands for high moral values - prominently including peace, so cherished in Judaism that it's said one of God's names is Shalom, or Peace. But to defend such a nation may call for grim realism. Maimonides identifies two categories of justifiable warfare. There is the war which is a divine "commandment," including to save the nation "from the hand of the enemy that has come upon them." This requires no approval from other branches of government. There is also the category of war called "optional," driven by a need to ensure the future safety and prosperity of the country. The Talmud depicts the Biblical King David as making war against corrupt neighbors to provide his country, in danger of starvation, with sufficient sustenance (tractate Berachot, page 3b). This is not theft, but a matter of survival. In an "optional" war, the king needs the approval of his legislative branch, the Sanhedrin of 71 expert sages. But with this approval secured, he may go to war to enlarge the nation's borders, or to pursue "greatness" and "reputation." Such a "reputation" is a defensive strategy. When other countries cease to regard your nation with awe, for instance if it tolerates violence against its citizens, this invites disrespect, which invites physical attack. [...] nationalreview.com