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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.

The U.S. has fought in several just and unjust wars. I picked just cause and right intention from jus ad bellum because all three wars met the standards. I picked proportionality and military necessity from jus in bello because all three wars met the standards as well. The Second Iraq War, which lasted from 2002 to current day, the Dominican Republic, which was fought during 1965, and the War in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which lasted from 1992 to 1995 are all just wars. These three wars are just and cover all four of my criteria which will be covered for all three wars.

The Second Iraq War was an extremely just war under my jus ad bellum criteria. We had just cause to fight back because the Al Qaeda launched a terrorist attack on the U.S. on September 11th, 2001 that killed over 2,000 people. Taylor and Corbin write that the Bush doctrine is the best doctrine to represent this war because it states that we should, “ [t]ake the fight to the enemy overseas before they can attack us again here at home ,” (Taylor and Corbin). We had already lost enough on American soil and could not afford to lose any more civilians so we took the war elsewhere. This war also fits my second criteria from jus ad bellum: Right intention. It fits the right intention criteria because the U.S., “[corrected] a suffered wrong… while material gain or maintaining economy is not,” (Criteria for a Just War Sheet). The U.S. actually declined economically during this war because of the costs to be at war. This war fits proportionality, my third criteria, because, as the Criteria for a Just War states under proportionality, “[a]n attack cannot be launched on a military objective in the knowledge that incidental civilian injuries would be clearly excessive to the anticipated military advantage,” (Criteria for a Just War Sheet). Although there were several civilian deaths on Iraq’s end of the war, it was anticipated that there would be quite a few casualties. My fourth criteria were met because the U.S. attacked the enemy with the intention of helping the military defeat the enemy with proportionally civilian death (Criteria for a Just War Sheet).

The Dominican republic was a just war because it met my criteria for jus ad bellum and jus in bello. The war had just cause because it was the duty of the U.S. to stop the spread of communism throughout the World. The new ruler from the Dominican Republic, Bosch, “was all for democratic and social reforms which could lead to Communism,” (Jill and Ben). This war also has right intention because we only used force to stop the spread of Communism and did not go any further. The concept of proportionality is used in this war because there were no excessive killings of citizens and mostly only enemy soldiers were hurt in the process. Military necessity was a criteria that was also covered in this war. Jill and Ben state that, “[m]ilitary action was necessary because the U.S. feared Communism in the Republic, which would be lead by Juan Bosch and the U.S. thought that… the Dominican Republic could turn into another ‘Cuba’,” (Jill and Ben). If the American military would not have intervened in this war, Communism could have broken out and the Dominican Republic would be a corrupt country.

The war in Bosnia-Herzegovina was just because all four of my criteria are covered. The UN, as a whole, signed the Genocide Convention and in that they promised to help any country or race who is suffering genocide. The just cause criteria is meat because Shea and Michael write that, “the United States couldn’t just sit by and let it happen,” (Shea and Michael) because they vowed to help anybody in danger of genocide at the Genocide Convention along with the entire UN. Right intention was met because America was, “correcting a suffered wrong,” (Criteria for a Just War). Shea and Michael state that, “ the United States entered with the right intention of saving the lives of those being abused by the Serbs ,” (Shea and Michael). From jus in bello, proportionality was a criteria that was met. There was no excessive use of the military in a way that would harm more civilians than intended. Military necessity was also met because America used minimum force, if much, to stop the genocide of the Yugoslavs.

From least just to most just, the three wars I covered go from the Dominican Republic, to the Second Iraq War, to the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Bosnia-Herzegovina war was the most just of them all because we joined when we signed the Genocide Convention that committed us to trying to stop any future genocide. We also did not need to use our military as much in this war and there was a smaller casualty count. The Second Iraq war was more just than the Dominican Republic but less just than the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina because we didn’t even start the war. We were forced to fight back and bring the fight off American soil after two monumental structures were taken down via planes hijacked by terrorists.


 * __Works Cited__**

The Second Iraq War: 2002 to current day. Taylor N. and Corbin D.

The Bosnia-Herzegovina: 1992 - 1995. Shea S. and Michael M.

The Dominican Republic War: 1965. Jill W. and Ben C.

Criteria for a Just War Sheet. Mrs. Sidor 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 defined

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

Explain why the __second__ choice fell short compared to the __first__ choice but is more just than the __third__ choice, listed, some comparison offered

Organize you writing in extended power paragraphs, except for the first paragraph, competently used

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

Cite evidence __internally__ and in a Works Cited. internal citation mostly correct; WC has some omissions