Corbin+D.+-+Just+War

Home Small Wars Project Just Wars Essays

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.

Corbin Dennis

Mrs. Sidor

Exam Essay- Just Wars

December 8th, 2011

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

Just War Theory has two sets of criteria: jus ad bellum and jus in bello. For jus ad bellum I selected the criteria of Just Cause and Last Resort. I selected Just Cause, because I believe that we should not kill innocent people or place civilian’s lives in danger. I selected Last Resort, because I believe that we should first try to work out our problems before going to war. For Jus in bello I selected Distinction and Military Necessity. I selected Distinction, because I believe that all battles should be against the military enemy and not on civilians. I selected Military Necessity, because I believe that we should use minimal force to end the war and not harm civilians or their homes. The three wars that I selected are the Second Iraq War, the Persian Gulf War and the Vietnam War. I will be analyzing these wars using the jus ad bellum criteria of Just Cause and Last Resort. I will also analyze these wars using the jus in bello criteria of Distinction and Military Necessity.

The three wars meet the jus ad bellum criteria. The Second Iraq War was Just Cause, because the US wanted to protect its US and Iraqi citizens from Saddam Hussein’s Weapons of Mass Destruction. (Wiki, the Second Iraq War) The US also wanted to stop terrorists such as Al Qaida from any future attacks on the US such as 911. The Second Iraq War was a Last Resort, because the US tried to warn Saddam Hussein and the Iraq army to surrender any Weapons of Mass Destruction and stop terrorizing Iraqi people. The Persian Gulf War was Just Cause, because “Kuwait, being an ally and also one of our largest suppliers of oil, was being attacked by their neighboring country of Iraq.” (Wiki, Persian Gulf War) The Persian Gulf War was a Last Resort, because Saddam Hussein and the Iraq army would not negotiate with the US and invaded Kuwait. The Vietnam War was a Just Cause, because the US was trying to save the Vietnamese people from Communism. The Vietnam War was a Last Resort, because the North Vietnam Army would not discuss peace with the US.

Two of these wars meet the jus in bello criteria, but one did not. The Second Iraq War met Distinction, because the US only attacked the Iraq army. Although, Shock and Awe probably did scare civilians. The Second Iraq War met Military Necessity, because the US did not harm churches or schools in Iraq. The Persian Gulf War met Distinction, because “Hussein and Iraq we're taken down very quickly, with the US using "smart bombs" (Clifford) and satellites to destroy Iraqi targets and also US Patriot missiles to intercept Iraqi Scud missiles.” (Wiki. Persian Gulf War) The Persian Gulf War met Military Necessity, because the US freed Kuwait and ended the war. The Vietnam War did not meet Distinction, because the US used force against the army and some civilians using napalm and other weapons. The Vietnam War did not meet Military Necessity, because the US did not use minimum force.

The Persian Gulf War was the more just than the Second Iraq War. The Second Iraq War was more just than the Vietnam War. The Persian Gulf War was more just, because the US followed the jus ad bellum and jus in bello criteria. The US went to war to save its ally Kuwait from the Iraq military invasion. The US used “smart bombs” so that it would not harm civilians. Once the US defeated Iraq, the US army came home. In the Second Iraq War the US met the jus ad bellum criteria, but not as well. The US used “Shock and Awe” to attack the Iraq army and scare the Iraq civilians. Once Saddam Hussein was defeated, the US did not leave Iraq. The US still has some troops in Iraq today. The Vietnam War was not just, because it did not meet the jus ad bellum and jus in bello criteria. The US did not use Distinction. It attacked the Vietnam army and civilians. The US also did not use Military Necessity. The US used napalm and other weapons to destroy Vietnam

Works Cited

D, Corbin, and Taylor N. “Second Iraq War- 2002-2011: Shock and Awe.” //American Studies Wiki//. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. .

N, Mitch, and Lizzy L. “Persian Gulf War 1990-91 Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield.” //American Studies Wiki//. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. .

S, John, and Emily M. “The Vietnam War- 1950-1975: Operation Name: Rolling Thunder.” //American Studies Wiki//. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2011. .

RUBRIC: A quality essay will

Explain why you selected the two jus ad bellum and the two jus in bello the criteria, reasons for selecting the criteria are offered

Use the __four__ criteria to analyze why the three small wars are "just wars", criteria is briefly analyzed

Support your analysis of each war with evidence from the Small Wars Wiki, evidence is not always used or sources credited

Rank the three small wars and explain why one war is more just than the other two, supporting evidence rarely offered

Explain why the __second__ choice fell short compared to the __first__ choice but is more just than the __third__ choice, briefly done without evidence

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; most sources not credited

Cite evidence __internally__ and in a Works Cited. many factual statements not credited; truncate web address in works cited

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