Operation Absolute Resolve and the Violation of the Just War Tradition

The American military operation that led to the capture of the head of a sovereign state in Latin America is not only reflective of the brash behavior on the part of the U.S. but also represents a violation of the Just War tradition the U.S. claims to follow.

In this context, the very foundation of the international law of war rests on the idea of Just War — if war is to be waged, it must be done in a fair, judicious, and ethical manner. In that context, the two foundational principles of that idea are — Jus Ad bellum and Jus in Bello, while the former is concerned with principles of the right to go to war, the latter is concerned with the right conduct of all parties in a war.

The idea of Just War has evolved over the years; this tradition from St. Augustine and since then has been refined with the inputs of many other thinkers such as Michael Walzer,  Jean Bethke Elshtain.

However, the one thinker who systematized this tradition and laid the ethical-intellectual yardsticks in the tradition of Just War is the Italian friar, theologian, and philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas.

Therefore, it becomes essential to undertake a critical scrutiny of the U.S. actions from a Thomistic lens.

Gross Violation of War Ethics

Aquinas outlined his ideas of war in his magnum........

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