Just War: Not Just Good Philosophy

September 11
offers us an opportunity not only to mourn the dead but also to choose never to

show the same disregard for the value of human life that terrorists have so
wantonly demonstrated.

The fifth anniversary of the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001, confronts us once again with a reminder that our
lives can shift from the calm to the catastrophic in the space of only a few
instants. As Christians, September 11
offers us an opportunity not only to mourn the dead but also to choose never to
show the same disregard for the value of human life that terrorists have so
wantonly demonstrated.

My friends at Catholics in Alliance for the Common
Good, a non-profit organization committed (like FaithfulDemocrats.com) to
showcasing the contributions of progressive thinkers in the Catholic community,
have just issued a press release on human dignity, justice, and U.S.
foreign policy. The full text can be
found here,
but perhaps its most important message comes from the Jesuit moral theologian
David Hollenbach:

“To wage a just
war means to use force in a way that can bring about a genuine peace in a just
and humanitarian manner. However, waging
a just war is not just a requirement of religion — it’s also based on a strategic
recognition that excessive civilian casualties, abuse of prisoners, and
unwillingness to work with the international community impede the ultimate goal
of a just and peaceful resolution.”

It should be obvious that to raise
objections to this administration’s interrogation methods, secret tribunals,
and so forth is not an exercise in what some have called liberal
hand-wringing. It certainly is to take a
stand on behalf of our country’s founding principles, but as Hollenbach notes,
it’s actually more than that. We reap
what we sow (Gal. 6:7-9), and conducting the war on terror justly may ultimately
mean the difference between victory and defeat.