Does US Airstrike in Iraq Violate Just War Doctrine?

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VanitasVanitatum said:
It doesn’t have an influence on world leaders so that’s why it will not have practical effects.
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As Christians we are called to observe all the teachings of the Church - not just the ones that world leaders might listen to. And if they don’t listen, it is our job to remind them.
 
pnewton said:
I do not understand the bizarre logic of the president that this will stop a war. Does he think he can intimidate religious zealots?
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I doubt that he thinks he can intimidate religious zealots. I’m sure that’s not the point. But I would guess that this is more about a boost in momentum to local protests, in Iraq and in Iran, and also a retaliatory strike for the Embassy.

What happened at the Embassy was intolerable. Iraqis were afraid to reign in the Iranian proxies. Or so they say that’s what happened. It would make sense then to send a firm message to both the Iraqi and Iranian governments, and to both Iraqi and Iranian protestors. A warning to the governments, and some encouragement to the protestors.

The necessity of the strike, however, would be difficult to question. The necessity being the defense of Americans serving in the region, which Soleimani was targeting.
 
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VanitasVanitatum said:
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LeafByNiggle:
As Christians we are called to observe all the teachings of the Church
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No one here is participating war.
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Many people see the assassination of the top military officer of a sovereign nation as an act of war, whether or not it was declared to be a war by Congress.
 
LeafByNiggle said:
Many people see the assassination of the top military officer of a sovereign nation as an act of war, whether or not it was declared to be a war by Congress.
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Only a few are culpable and chances are that they are not Catholic anyways and if they are, the chances that they are listen are small.
 

This war on terrorism is peculiar because it is difficult to fit into the just war doctrine. This interesting video helps in understanding what this war does to the human psyche. The US was and is at war well before the bombing of Soliemani.
 
It not like he killed the Norman Schwarzkopf of Iran. He killed a terrorist.
 
Beryllos said:
Killing for deterrence removes this link. The killing does not directly remove the threat, but merely intends to influence others who pose their own direct threats.
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Soleimani is (supposedly) the mastermind of multiple imminent attacks, as well as the recent assault on the embassy. If this is true, though, these imminent attacks and death have been reduced (but probably not completely eliminated), which meets the requirement.

In other words, this was (according to the claims made), this was an incapacitation, not a retaliation.

(that said, I’m skeptical in general about the arguments that any one individual is that critical. Then again, a) such “removals” would delay some attacks in the works, b) history is replete with examples of generals who did make the difference, and c) the existence of such apparently invulnerable figures is a huge factor for morale, which gets gutted when they do die)
 
VanitasVanitatum said:
Only a few are culpable and chances are that they are not Catholic anyways and if they are, the chances that they are listen are small.
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The calling to speak out for Church teaching is not limited to instances where our leaders are Catholics. I am beginning to suspect that all these excuses are to avoid addressing the question of the actions of a few days ago in terms of the just war. Instead of going round and round about how the question of this thread is irrelevant, how about trying to answer it anyway? Do you accept the just war teaching of the Church or not? And if you do, can you weigh in on how this particular drone strike comes out in light of that teaching?
 
phil3 said:
It not like he killed the Norman Schwarzkopf of Iran. He killed a terrorist.
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He may have been engaged in terrorist activities, but if so, he was doing it as an agent of the sovereign nation of Iran. As such, the attack on him personally was an attack on the nation of Iran.

And by the way, just war doctrine aside, I think it was a stupid thing to do because he was part of a substantial military that is perfectly capable of carrying out any attack without him as with him. Killing him will not stop those plans (if there were any). It is also stupid because it pushes the Iraq government more into the sphere of influence of Iran, and it galvanizes popular support for the anti-American factions. I will remind you that prior to the Iran Hostage Crisis, the population of Iran was quite pro-Western. We have squandered all that good will so that we are left with a populace that is enraged against the US. Iran will now go full steam ahead with nuclear development (what do they have to lose?).
 
I agree with everything you wrote.

I’m retracting my initial objection, which was based on the Department of Defense saying “This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.” I had assumed that they meant deter in the sense of intimidating other people – not a morally acceptable reason for killing someone – but now I’m thinking that they really meant deter simply as inhibiting, in this case by removing a key person, which may well be morally acceptable under either the just war or legitimate defense doctrines. However, I don’t have enough detailed information to judge with confidence whether it was morally acceptable.
 
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I’m one of the people that can’t make heads or tails of the situation with Iran. I’ve read a brief history of US-Iranian relations. Iran has legitimate reasons to grieve the USA but it’s also a warmonger in its own right and loves to do proxy wars with Saudi Arabia. It’s all an intertwined mess and I honestly can’t say what would or wouldn’t be just in terms of dealing with the general and what kind of consequences or vacuum it will leave. I tend to think that we should have just let it alone.

I think Christians around the world need to pray for peace, especially in that area.
 
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I guess the West has killed more people than ISIS in the Middle East
 
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