Reply #9: ask your uncle [View All]

[tjfreeman]

why, if Aquinas would have found this war just, the Catholic Church hierarchy, the US Bishops and the pope, came out strongly against the war. Their argument against the war was precisely that it was not a last resort and there never was a just cause--since it was never really a matter of self-defense.

I wrote two essays on this topic, one in the month just prior to the start of the war:

http://hawaii.ms11.net//Freeman3-25.htm

and one in September of 2003 which appeared on CounterPunch:

http://www.counterpunch.org/freeman09172003.html


It is really hard for me to see how anyone who seriously considered just war theory would find this one justified.

I know how it is with uncles though--one of mine said at one point after 911 (but prior to the Iraq War) that he was glad "that we finally had a president who appeared to have no dark side." Imagine that, the prince of darkness himself appeared to have no dark side. And this uncle was no wing-nut either, but a really decent person, someone whom I've respected greatly all my life. That's what will have to be explained someday--how so many decent, well intentioned people were so blinded in the rush to war.