Catholic Layman's Justification of the War in Iraq--Part II

The Kerry Catholic authors who wrote that the Iraq war is unjust, claim President Bush "rushed" us to war. Where was the rush? Iraq had snubbed their noses at the UN for 12 years, violating UN resolution after UN resolution. And given the 9-11 attacks how much longer could we wait? The authors, and other Kerry Catholics, suggest we should have given the UN weapons inspectors more time. How much? Does Catholic Just War doctrine say? No, only that it is left to the competent authority to decide. It has taken the US weapons inspectors a year and a half to complete its own work. Kerry Catholics seem to suggest CJW doctrine insists we would have had to wait for another 9/11 type attack killing thousands or tens of thousands of innocent Americans, which would have been linked back to the Iraqi regime before we could act. That is not last resort, that is too late. This possibility must be applied and taken into account when using CJW. That is the challenge for all Catholics.

Again, knowing that the Iraqi regime was waiting out the sanctions, skimming money off the corrupt Oil-for-Food program and using the funds to pay for foreign military equipment, the infrastructure to reconstitute its WMD program, and buy votes on the UN Security Council, the waiting would have gotten us nowhere. The Iraqi regime would have been that much closer to having weapons which when used would be more devastating than jetliners crashing into skyscrapers. As well, during this time how many innocent Iraqis would have continued to suffer under the sanctions. The sanctions and Oil-for-Food program did not benefit the people or Iraq, rather it was Saddam who benefited.

NEXT: Defining "success".

Read Part I.