Just War for the Sake of Argument

TCS Daily ^ | 7/18/2006 | Stephen Bainbridge

[Jane2005]

Last week, Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano announced that the Holy See condemned "both the terrorist attacks on the one side and the military reprisals on the other," arguing that Israel's right to self-defense "does not exempt it from respecting the norms of international law, especially as regards the protection of civilian populations." "In particular,' Sodano added, "the Holy See deplores the attack on Lebanon, a free and sovereign nation."

The Vatican statement triggered a hostile reaction from popular blogger (and Catholic) Ed Morrissey:

"The Vatican has the same fallacious notion that a nation attacked in an act of war should only respond in proportion to the original attack. Unfortunately for the dreamers at the Vatican, nations do not fight wars in that manner unless they want to lose them. When one nation attacks another, the path to victory comes with an application of overwhelming force, the kind of attack that strips the antagonist of any ability to wage war."

Let's assume for sake of argument that Hezbollah's attack on Israel was an act of war, as my fellow TCS columnists Peter Pham and Michael Krauss argued last week. Even so, Israel is still bound by the moral and legal obligations of the just war doctrine.

[MNJohnnie]

Attempts to create a phony moral equivalence is NOT Moral Leadership. These are the actions of moral cowards. Christ did not come to this world to appease evil, he came to defeat it. This merely is Terrorist Empowerment in action. Israel has a right to defend itself. The Vatican is wrong.

[Darkwolf377]

Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano announced that the Holy See condemned "both the terrorist attacks on the one side and the military reprisals on the other,"

Shut up, moron.

As someone who was brought up in the Catholic church I have zero interest in what these laughable so-called "moral leaders" have to say about anything. Their moral leadership amounts to "everyone has a right to their opinion and all violence is bad" and I could get that from a three-year-old.

[stuartcr]

When it comes to wars, why do people listen to the churches anyway?

[confuzed]

appeasers! check out his site:
http://pumpkinseeds-contradictions.blogspot.com/

[stuartcr]

???

[stuartcr]

Those that wage war, certainly don't seem to care what a church says...unless it agrees with them.