Essay On Just War

The theory of “just war” is a war that morally and religiously justifiable. The War in Afghanistan performed by the American military is considered a “just war.” The war was declared after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. This is considered a “just war,” because the United States government ordered the attack, the al-Qaeda attacked the United States first, and most people had the right intention when fighting. The War in Afghanistan is not considered sinful.
The first reason that the War in Afghanistan is considered a “just war,” is because the United States government ordered the attack. According to Aquinas’s first criterion, this considered a “just war.” Aquinas states, “The natural order conducive to peace among mortal demands …show more content…
The people in the war must have the correct intentions. “It is necessary that the belligerents should have a rightful intention, so that they intend the advancement of good, or the avoidance of evil” (Aquinas 485). This means that all the people engaged in the fighting should have the right reason and peace should be an intention. The reason people fight the War in Afghanistan is because they wanted to protect the freedom of the United States and fight for those who lose their lives in the attacks. However, some people did not have the right intentions. These wrong intentions include that some people killed civilians, and others fought just to kill people. These are not considered a justifiable according to Aquinas and other philosophers. But, most people still have the right intentions and as a result considered a “just war.”
The War in Afghanistan is considered a “just war” for a few reasons: the state ordered the attack, the attack had a justifiable reason, the people had the right intentions in the war, The people who fight in the war are protected by these criteria. This is so that the people do not feel that they are sinning by fighting for their