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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.

Were the Small Wars Just Wars?

In the search for just and unjust American wars, I used two points from both the Jus Ad Bellum and the Jus In Bello Criteria in order to determine where each war falls on the spectrum. Out of the Jus Ad Bellum criteria, I found that //Just Cause // and //Right Intention // came up most frequently in my study of small wars. Just Cause is the reason that a belligerent provides for involving them self in a war. In order for the war to be considered just, a nation must have just cause; this means that “the reason for going to war… cannot be solely for recapturing taken things or punishing people; innocent life must be imminent danger” (Criteria for Just War). The second criteria that was commonly used was //Right Intention //. Right Intention has to do with the moral reason for declaring war; “correcting wrong is considered a right intention, while material gain or maintaining economies is not” (Criteria for Just War). Of the Jus In Bello Criteria, I am going to use //Distinction // and //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Military Necessity //. Distinction means, “the acts of war should be directed towards the enemy combatants, and not towards non-combatants” (Criteria for Just War). Military Necessity displays the principle of “minimum force” and is meant to “limit excessive and unnecessary death” I will be analyzing the occupation of Japan, the Spanish-American war, and the occupation of Haiti in order to determine the level of justness that each conflict demonstrates.

I have found the Occupation of Japan, lasting from 1945-1952, was the most just war, since we followed the Jus Ad Bellum and the Jus In Bello criteria. This “war” really wasn’t a war at all, though the military was involved; instead, it was a display of compassion from America to rebuild a destroyed Japan. Firstly, we had a clearly just cause: “to help Japan reconstruct their war-torn nation” (Jack and Becca’s wiki). Secondly, we had the right intention. America was willing to sacrifice time and money in order to fund and support a reconstruction that helped Japan get their businesses back on their feet after the war. Not only did America feel a moral obligation to help Japan when they were at their weakest, but we also knew that it would benefit us in the long-run to build Japan back up to a powerful status as a world leader and as an ally in that part of the world. General MacArthur led the American troops in a manner that adheres to just war conduct. Military Necessity was displayed throughout the occupation as American troops worked side-by-side with the Japanese with no violence to speak of. In result, distinction was also followed, seeing as no fighting actually took place. In summation, the occupation of Japan was, in my opinion, the most just use of our military that American has been engaged in since World War Two.

The Spanish American War cannot be considered just, since we had no real reason for being there in the first place; however, it can’t be labeled as unjust, either, since once we were there we did our best to act with compassion and keep things peaceful. We had no real just cause, though American tried to sell of the war as “an effort to save the lives of innocent Cubans” (Reyna and Bobby’s wiki). This wasn’t really what was going on, and this was more a campaign created by the government in order to keep up the funding from the American public, right along with “Remember the Maine, the hell with Spain”. Our intentions fell under the same category as our cause: “helping innocent Cubans regain independence from Spain” (Reyna and Bobby). Although we didn’t have a just cause or the right intention, the Spanish-American war cannot be called off as completely unjust, either, since once we were in Cuba, the military did abide by the Jus In Bello criteria. The U.S. military followed by the concept of military necessity by entering and exiting the war in a timely fashion, since the war only lasted about 4 months. In addition, e followed distinction by saving, instead of killing, civilians and avoiding attacks on residential areas. All-in-all, the war falls somewhere in between justness and unjustness.

The war in Haiti, which took place from 1915-1934, was the least just of the small wars that I studied. We had neither just cause nor the right intention, and the American combatants did not use distinction or military necessity; therefore, both Jus Ad Bellum and Jus In Bello were ignored. Firstly, the U.S. “was interested in Haiti because of possible financial benefits” (Annie and Jack’s wiki). The right intention guidelines state that “material gain or maintaining economies” is not a right intention (Criteria for Just War). Secondly, our cause was “to quell civil unrest and establish control over customs, houses and port authorities” (Annie and Jack). This is not a just cause, and is no reason to go to war. Not only were did we have to reason to be there in the first place, but we also did not follow the just war conduct when we were in Haiti. We wanted absolute control of the country, and we ended up staying for far too long; this meant that we didn’t follow military necessity, for we occupied the country for 19 years. This was an unwise use of our resources. Finally, we didn’t use distinction, and the American rule was unpopular with both the Haitians and the citizens of the United States. From start to finish, I have found the war in Haiti to be the most unjust small war that America has fought.

After looking at the Jus Ad Bellum and the Jus In Bello criteria, I have selected the Occupation of Japan to be America’s most just war, the Haiti war as our least just war, and the Spanish-American war as being in the middle. The Occupation of Japan was the most just because we have a strong just cause and a very good intention. The Occupation of Haiti was the least just because we had no cause, no right intention, no distinction, and no military necessity. Finally, the Spanish-American war was in between because we used distinction and military necessity, but we didn’t have a just cause or a right intention. It’s hard to pin down exactly where a war fits in on a scale of justness, but I think that my rankings are pretty accurate according to our “Criteria for a Just War” handout. By studying these wars, I have discovered that America has fought some beneficial small wars, some detrimental small wars, and some small wars that accomplished nothing; I hope that American can analyze small wars from the past in order to determine how to proceed in conflicts today.


 * Works Cited:**

"Criteria for a Just War"-- a handout from Mrs. Sidor Reyna and Bobby's wiki page Annie and Jack's wiki page Jack and Becca's wiki page

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, <span style="color: #ff000c; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">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 incorrectly formatted