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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 Occupation of Japan, the Invasion of Grenada and the Boxer Rebellion were all Just Wars according to the Criteria for a Just War packet. They all fitted in multiple categories to make them Just Wars from reasons to go to war and ways to fight a Just war. Two reasons to go to war are Just cause and Probability of success and two ways to fight a war are Distinction and Proportionality. All three wars had the two jus as bellum, such as a Just cause and the probability of success and jus in bello, such as distinction and proportionality to make then Just wars.

Two reasons to go to war, or jus ad bellum are just cause and the probability of success. In 1983 the United States invaded Grenada with the help of six other Caribbean nations in order to drive out the Cubans occupying Grenada and to protect the American students who were studying there at the time according to mine and Lucas' wiki page. Our probability of success was good because we had six other nations helping us and we had a just cause, by going to help innocent U.S citizens. The Boxer Rebellion in 1900 was a just war because we were trying to save innocent lives from the hands of the rebellion and we also had seven other countries helping us fight the Boxer rebellion so our probability of success was almost guaranteed according to Brooks and Lexie's wiki page. Also according to Jack and Becca's wiki page, in the occupation of Japan in 1945, we weren’t exactly fighting, we were using it as a way to spy on the Soviet Union and to make sure that Japan didn’t fall to communism so we were saving potential lives from communism and our probability of success was fair because we weren’t fighting often.

Two ways to fight a Just war, or jus in bello are distinction and proportionality. In the invasion of Grenada, we only fought for a few months and we aimed to fight Cuba, the enemy and not the civilians of Grenada. Also our military did not fight to overkill, just fight in order to ensure safe- keeping for the U.S citizens. In the Occupation of Japan, we didn’t fight as much even though we moved troops in and so it was impossible to overkill anyone if we weren’t fighting often. In the Boxer Rebellion, the United States and the seven other countries fighting only aimed to kill those of the rebellion, who were against western ideas and since the rebellion wasn’t huge, only in the making, we couldn’t overkill the enemy because there weren't many them.

Out of all three Just wars, the Invasion of Grenada was more Just than the Occupation of Japan and the Boxer Rebellion. This is because it fits into the two jus ad bellum reasons the best. The U.S had a Just cause to go to war because we were trying to protect innocent American lives who were believed to be in danger and we were trying to contain the spread of communism so we decided to invade to drive the Cubans out. Also the U.S's probability of success was good because we were fighting with six other Caribbean nations. The Invasion of Grenada in 1983 also fits in the two jus in bello reasons best, distinction and proportionality. When Ronald Reagen decided to invade Grenada in 1983, the United States had a plan for how to invade and to kill the enemy- the Cubans on the island. The United States had no intention to kill innocent civilians and they didn't overkill the enemy because Cuba had only recently invaded the island. Also the Boxer Rebellion was more Just than the Occupation of Japan because the U.S with seven other countries were protecting innocent, defenseless people who were being targeted because of their western ideas. One reason the United States occupied Japan was because we were trying to "put them in their place" after World War II according to Jack B and Becca J's wiki page because they had committed "unforgivable" war crimes. Although all three small wars are Just wars, the Invasion of Grenada was the most just out of the three small wars, and the Boxer Rebellion was more just then the occupation of Japan.

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 but you do not credit your sources Rank the three small wars and explain why one war is more just than the other two, reasoning are clear but you do not offer supporting evidence Explain why the __second__ choice fell short compared to the __first__ choice but is more just than the __third__ choice,  comparison is competently made, unfortunately you did not credit the source of your information Organize you writing in extended power paragraphs, had you cited your evidence, you would have competently used the power paragraph format Identify the source and establish its credibility with an appositive phrase, not done Cite evidence __internally__ and in a Works Cited. not done