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Just War Doctrine and the Invasion of Iraq
Author(s) -
Enemark Christian,
Michaelsen Christopher
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
australian journal of politics and history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.123
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-8497
pISSN - 0004-9522
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8497.2005.00393.x
Subject(s) - doctrine , possession (linguistics) , terrorism , iraq war , political science , law , spanish civil war , authorization , just war theory , jus ad bellum , meaning (existential) , computer security , psychology , philosophy , linguistics , computer science , psychotherapist
In this article we adopt the framework of Just War doctrine to assess whether the 2003 invasion of Iraq was just. The six criteria against which we assess the justice of going to war are Just Cause, Right Authority, Right Intention, Reasonable Prospect of Success, Proportionate Cause and War as Last Resort. We focus upon what was known and said by the US, British and Australian governments around the time they decided to invade and consider whether there was sufficient justification and authorisation for the Iraq War. The key pre‐war issues discussed include alleged Iraqi possession of WMD and links to terrorist organisations, and the meaning of UN Security Council resolutions. We conclude that, as the Just War criteria were not satisfied, the invasion of Iraq was unjust.