Just War Theory and Iraq, Part I

One of the key components of a just war, according to just war theory (see my brief Introduction), is that a war must be undertaken by a legitimate and proper authority. While it may not seem apparent, the war in Iraq fails to meet even this relatively straightforward criteria.

The US has not declared war since World War II. Since the close of that war, however, our troops have been involved in many conflicts, perhaps most notably Korea, Vietnam. Each of these wars was a long conflict, and had high casualties, and yet there was never an official declaration of war- which caused problems in each case, but most especially in the case of Vietnam.

The Founding Fathers, when they wrote the US Constitution, had the wisdom to realize that (1) to prevent overly agressive use of the US military, and (2) to create the circumstances best suited to military success once a war had been undertaken, a unified government must be behind the war effort. The President was made commander-in-chief, but it is the responsibility of the Congress to declare war. The US Congress has abdicated that responsibility over the last 60 years.

The failure to follow constitutional guidelines has been very troublesome for the US in that through its abdication, the Congress has violated both of the Founders objectives. The US has engaged in military actions it should not have engaged in. Perhaps more importantly, the Congress has been able to adopt a "have your cake and eat it too" position.

In both the case of Vietnam and the current war in Iraq, the Congress provided a general "authorization" to the President to use military force. In each case, members of Congress, when the war began to go poorly, have been able to claim that the intended the authorization only as a threat, or that they didn't intend for the President to do what he did, or to go as far as he did.

The Framers of the US Constitution established a system of government based upon separation of powers. For our government to function as intended, each branch of government must fulfill its constitutional obligations. In the case of war, for a war to be legitimate under the Constitution, it must be declared by Congress. A declaration differs qualitatively from a mere authorization, expressing a will of the Congress, and of the people, that is, presumably, motivated by some very significant cause.

As the Congress has not declared war against Iraq, our invasion of that nation is not consistent with the US Constitution. As the invasion is not consistent with the Constitution, it is not a war conducted under legitimate authority.

Therefore, the war in Iraq fails the first criteria of just war theory.

GP

Next Just War Principle: The war must be undertaken as a last resort.