Just War Theory and peer-reviewed article analysis

Just war theory is based on a doctrine that was "largely inspired by the religious tenets of Christianity" during the time of Saint Augustine, according to Jeffrey Whitman, writing in the peer-reviewed journal Public Integrity (Whitman, 2007, p. 26). The theory evolved thanks to the narratives presented by Saint Thomas Aquinas and Francisco de Vitoria -- and later fine-tuned by Hugo Grotius -- and today the principles of the just war theory "enjoy the status of positive widely accepted, international law," Whitman asserts (26). The just war theory has three main goals, which together seek to find common ground between pacifism and "realism," the author explains. The first goal is to "limit the frequency of war" (jus ad bellum translates to "justice of war standards"); the second goal is designed to "limit the brutality of war" (jus in bello -- "justice in war"); and the third goal of the just war theory is to "limit the possibility of future war" once a current war concludes (jus post bellum).

Whitman's Suggestion for an Update of the Just War Theory

Meanwhile, the just war theory may need some updating, according Whitman, who makes that argument due to the realities facing the world following the terrorist attacks of 2001 in New York and Washington. He sees that certain kinds of terrorism have opened up a new field of war, and hence, the "moral basis" of the just war theory needs reconsideration. First of all Whitman (a professor of philosophy at Susquehanna University) notes that terrorism is not a new form of war at all; during the 1980s and 1990s there were "…a total of 9,255 recorded terrorist incidents," he reports; and those incidents killed over 7,000 people.

However, he views the al Qaeda kind of terrorism as "nihilistic" in nature as the radical Muslims have "appropriated the Islamic religion" and the "jihad" concept to recruit "suicide bombers with the promise of martyrdom and entry into paradise" (Whitman, 25). The Islamic terrorists (seeking immortality through "death cults") go well beyond political goals and into an area he calls "eschatological concerns" (25). In other words, how can a just war theory apply to radicals that blow themselves up in order to kill others and get to Heaven by doing so? In that context, "There can be no negotiated settlement," Whitman points out (26). And hence, the third goal in the just war theory is out the window; the only counterterrorist solution for the society or organization that is being attacked is to seek "the utter destruction of the terrorists," which runs contrary to the second goal (jus in bello). For example, when the Navy SEALS killed Osama bin Laden -- and U.S. drones stealthily kill suspected terrorist leaders in Muslim countries -- this is retaliation and does not seek to lead to a peaceful settlement, or to limit future wars.