The long tradition of a "just war" has its roots in Roman Catholic religious teachings from Augustine through Aquinas. It eschews the simplistic and quixotic notions of pacifism and the intrinsic immorality of the "realpolitic" concept of applying force. This list attempts to have reviewers rate the criteria of Just War tradition and apply them to the war in Iraq. Please attempt to determine whether under each or which criteria you believe this war was unjust or just. There are two main segments to the theory jus ad bellum (going to war) and jus en bellum (fighting the war). I ask that people try to stick to each criteria when discussing how each is applied.
5 =
justified