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Comparison Essay: How Just Were the U.S.’s Small Wars?

The Just War Theory has two parts. Study the Just War handout and select the two most significant criteria for **//jus ad bellum//** and two most significant criteria for **//jus in bello//**. With these criteria in mind, select one war from each of your three tables that best meets these criteria. In the essay, you will analyze, compare and rank these three wars.

Write an essay that compares the three small wars and analyzes how well all three meet the four criteria that you believe are most important. Based on this comparison, select the __"most just"__ of the three wars and explain the reasons for the choice. Also, explain why your __second choice__ fell short and were not as just as your __first choice__ but is more just than your __third choice__.

RUBRIC: A quality essay will Explain why you selected **jus ad bellum** and **jus in bello** the criteria, Use the __four__ criteria to analyze why the three small wars are "just wars", Support your analysis of each war with evidence from the Small Wars Wiki, Rank the three small wars and explain why one war is more just than the other two, Explain why the __second__ choice fell short compared to the __first__ choice but is more just than the __third__ choice, Organize you writing in extended power paragraphs, Identify the source and establish its credibility with an appositive phrase, Cite evidence __internally__ and in a Works Cited.

POST JUST WAR ESSAY HERE

How Just Were the U.S.’s Small Wars A war is a war, but what makes it a **just** war? With all of the criteria to choose from, I decided that just cause, or going into the war for a single purpose, and once that purpose is finished, you get out, and last resort, or when there is nothing else to do, that is when you go into the war, were the two most important out of them all. Along with jus in bello, I chose that military necessity, or how necessary it is to bring in the military to achieve the goal, and distinction, or the main focus is on the enemy, not on civilians, were by far the most important in all of the criteria. With these four criteria chosen, they all seemed to be a perfect match with the 3 wars I chose, the Second Iraq War, Panama, and the War in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Out of the 3 wars I chose, Panama seemed to be the war that was the most just because it followed all of the four most important criteria, just cause, last resort, military necessity and distinction. Panamanian forces were being disrespectful to our own people, and we got involved to put an end to it. Forces in Panama were abusing US citizens residing in Panama and they also "murdered a U.S. Marine and abused a navy officer and his wife" (Arat I. and John M. Wiki). We couldn't just let them continue to abuse US citizens and even kill US military personnel, and we had no choice but to enter Panama, and that is where the criteria of last resort comes in. In order to end everything that was going on their, President George H.W. Bush planned "a full-scale operation whose objective was to protect U.S. citizens living in Panama, secure the Panama Canal and US military installations, help the Panamanian people restore democracy, and arrest Noriega and bring him to the U.S. for trial" (Arat I. and John M. Wiki). President Bush shows here that in order to get what needed to be done, we were going to need to get the military involved, which is where the military necessity comes in, and also he shows the criteria of just cause because there was a goal, to do everything stated above, and then get out. While in Panama, President Bush wanted "to protect U.S. citizens living in Panama... [and] help the Panamanian people restore democracy" (Arat I. and John M. Wiki). Here is where the criteria of distinction come in, Bush wanted to protect and help US citizens living in Panama and focus on targeting on Panamanian forces. This war was definitely the most just because it followed all the criteria in both jus ad bellum and in jus in bello.

The Second Iraq War was close to being more just than Panama, but it only followed 3 of the 4 main criteria, military necessity, last resort and just cause. Distinction just didn't fit in this war because even though we were targeting Iraqi troops and terrorist groups, we still bombed areas in which civilians resided and we put innocent lives in danger. One reason we invaded Iraq is because the US believed that "the Iraq army had weapons of mass destruction" (Corbin D. and Taylor N.) and that they were aiding terrorist groups. After the attacks on 9/11, and later believing that Iraq was aiding terrorist groups, and that they denied UN forces to inspect if they had nuclear weapons, we had no choice but to enter Iraq, which is where the last resort and military necessity criteria comes into play. Since we believed that " the Iraq army had weapons of mass destruction" (Corbin D. and Taylor N.), we entered into Iraq to make sure if that was true, and when we were done with that mission, we would leave, which is where the just cause criteria comes into play. As this war came close to being number one, it was left at number 2 because we bombed areas in which civilians were living in, which is the complete opposite of the distinction criteria.

The War in Bosnia-Herzegovina was left at number 3 because it only followed 2 of the 4 main criteria, distinction and just cause. We didn't need to go in because military use wasn't a necessity, we didn't even have to go into Bosnia, and it wasn't like it was our last resort to go in, we simply went in to help people who were in danger. The people of Bosnia were "being abused by the Serbs" (Shea S. and Michael M.), so we went in to get the Serbs out and protect the people who were in danger. It is a perfect example of the criteria of distinction because we went in to flush out the Serbs and protect the people in danger. Since the people of Bosnia were "being abused by the Serbs" (Shea S. and Michael M.), our goal was to get the Serbs out, and that was our main goal, and when we got them out, we would leave, which is where the just cause criteria comes into play. Since it wasn't a complete necessity to go in and it wasn't our last resort to go in, that is why the War in Bosnia-Herzegovina was put in last place.

As I said before, Panama was the most just war because it followed all 4 of the main criteria when the other two wars did not. It also made sense that it was put at number one because not only where we protecting our own people, we were also protecting the native people of Panama. While Bosnia and the Second Iraq Wars where very close, there were just some things about them that made them fall behind.

RUBRIC: A quality essay will

Explain why you selected the two jus ad bellum and the two jus in bello the criteria, criteria identified and explained

Use the __four__ criteria to analyze why the three small wars are "just wars", use criteria to analyze three wars

Support your analysis of each war with evidence from the Small Wars Wiki, evidence used to support your claims

Rank the three small wars and explain why one war is more just than the other two, evidence and reasoning is clear

Explain why the __second__ choice fell short compared to the __first__ choice but is more just than the __third__ choice, comparisons are effective and well reasoned

Organize you writing in extended power paragraphs, competently used

Identify the source and establish its credibility with an appositive phrase, attempted

Cite evidence __internally__ and in a Works Cited. internal citations mostly correct; WC not done

Please maintain academic voice--do not write in first person.