Issue Position: On War

Issue Position

There are many individuals that believe war is justifiable. Some believe it is justifiable for humanitarian reasons. Humanitarian reasons can vary but generally are couched in the concept that we need to intervene to save the people, especially women and children, from the ravages and destruction of autocratic leaders or brutal governments. The cry is that we cannot stand by and allow individuals to be slaughtered, ravaged and starved. We must act.

There are still others that say we have no business going to war with another country for humanitarian reasons. They would claim that the only justification for an act of war against another entity would be because there was a clear threat to our nation, it's citizens or interests.

There are other individuals who claim that it would be wrong for us to use military force against any nation or entity. They tend to believe that if it is happening somewhere else we remain safe as long as we don't get involved ourselves. Why should we waste our nation's blood and treasure beyond our own shores?

There are still others that feel we are the greatest nation on the face of the earth with the most muscle and firepower and therefore the only country which can solve the world's problems. We are the world's cop, and we must carry that responsibility for the betterment of all people. The individuals in this group may feel a moral responsibility to end the problem that is out there but they may or may not feel the moral responsibility for the long range effects of their nations actions. They may wish to perform a pin prick operation and then be gone after having relieved the visible symptoms. We have in effect tried to help two nations rebuild after curing them of the symptoms that ailed them. However, after a few years we have grown weary and basically left them to their own fate. We think we have done our part to set them free and train them. We have also recently helped the insurgents in another nation oust an autocrat with pinprick involvement only to see them struggle to move forward. Getting involved requires the moral integrity to help as long as is necessary to solve the real problems. It takes real guidance and standing by them while they learn and make mistakes and try again. Sometimes it requires that a provisional government, controlled by the military, do the guiding until the people are capable of standing on their own as we did in Germany and Japan after World War II.

In some cases the people may not be governable by the rule of law. Sometimes it takes a generation in order to effect the changes that need to take place. But involvement places a moral responsibility on us to see the job to its end.

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