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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.

Sarah Heuerman

December 7, 2011

Were the Small Wars Just Wars?

In our study of small wars we used Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello to determine which wars were just. Jus Ad bellum is used to determine if we had the right to go to war, and Jus in Bello discuses right conduct in the criteria Just Cause and Right intention for Jus ad Bellum and Distinction and Military Necessity for Jus in Bello were the most frequent an important in most small wars. Using this criteria I applied it to small wars such as Occupation of Japan, Grenada, and Kosovo.

Jus ad Bellum is used to justify reason for involvement or start of a conflict. Two of the key parts are Just Cause which states, “ The reason for going to war needs to just and cannot therefore be solely for recapturing things taken or punishing people who have done wrong; innocent life must be in imminent danger”(Criteria for Just a Just War) and Right Intention which is “ Force may be used only in a truly cause and solely for that purpose”(Criteria for a Just War). By using these description I verified which wars were just. According to Jack B and Becca J Occupation of Japan was to “punish them and put them into place” when the U.S. held a grudge against them from their hatred war crimes in World War II. Also after getting involved in Japan “we were against their ways” so “we took particular interest in demilitarizing and democratization” of their country. Since the cause to get involved in Japan was to punish and that we changed our intention while in Japan it was not just cause or right intention. Involvement in Grenada was activated when “1,000 U.S. student were believed to be endangered there” according to Lucas’s and Elena’s wiki, but once we got to grenade our “intentions began to focus on overthrowing the Communist government. Grenada has just Cause since it was to protect the students but right intention was broken when we shifted our attention towards the communist government. The involvement in Kosovo was launched when Serbs were” ethnically cleansing” Kosovo and “ over 4,000 Kosovars were killed “ and “killings took place in 70 villages, creating mass graves” according to Katie and Graham‘s wiki. Since the Serbs were creating a genocide and the U.S. stuck to the original task of creating peace Kosovo, it fit under Jus ad Bellum. Out of the three Wars under Jus ad Bellum Kosovo was the most just while Occupation of Japan was the least.

Jus in Bello is another criteria used to determine a Just War. Jus in Bello establishes just conduct in a war through distinction, which is “ Acts of war should be directed towards enemy combatants and not towards non- combatants caught in circumstances they did not create.” and through Military necessity which is meant “ to limit excessive and unnecessary death and destruction.” In Occupation of Japan General Douglas MacArthur stated “ I have to rebuild a country that has been destroyed” and anyway we did rebuild it we left them “vulnerable, with no military, a new government and social code.” Since we destroyed Japan Military Necessity was broken but Distinction was followed. In Grenada President Regan only sent troops in to “clean up” the country from communism. In result they only harmed the enemy which follows Jus ad Bellum. In the Kosovo conflict we bombed an enemy target causing destruction, but since it is only an enemy it still follow Jus in Bello. By the Jus in Bello criteria Grenada and Kosovo follow it while Occupation of Japan does not.

Using Jus Ad Bellum and Jus in Bello I figured out the amount of justification in each war. In occupation of Japan, it was unjust in the Just Cause, Right Intention, and Military Necessity making it an unjust war. Grenada was a mostly just war since it followed all criteria except Right Intention. Lastly the Kosovo conflict follow all criteria so it is a complete Just War. In result, Kosovo is the most just, then Grenada and last, is 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", attempts to use criteria 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 is not always clear--particularly for Japan

Explain why the __second__ choice fell short compared to the __first__ choice but is more just than the __third__ choice, listed without rationale

Organize you writing in extended power paragraphs, not all paragraphs are organized this way

Identify the source and establish its credibility with an appositive phrase, not done for all 3 wars

Cite evidence __internally__ and in a Works Cited. not done

Please write with an academic voice, not in the first person.