Re-assessing Iraq, Just Wars etc (from the RW blogger The Anchoress )

[papau]

The Anchoress has some thoughts on Iraq, War, and being a Christian. I thought DUers might find it interesting to hear what the other side (and I agree she's wrong on the intersection of war and Christian and Bush/Iraq) is saying when they speak politely as fellow citizens. She sees war as the only solution proposed for dealing with worldwide terror when the enemy, the fundi Muslim, wants to die to advance his idea of God that limited human rights of gays and women and non-muslims, all the while agreeing that perhaps war may not work. She says she does not know how important Iraq is to the cause of freedom, and then claims all hell breaks lose worldwide if we withdraw. I did not say she is all that logical - this nice person is after all a believer in right wing causes and in Bush. Indeed she throws out the idea that the "4th quarter" (you knew there would be a football phrase coming, didn't you?) will be won or lost by the Iraqis themselves. Indeed her last point appears to be not a worry about winning or losing or hurting Bush, but on what we need to do to go home with a "clear conscience".


http://theanchoressonline.com/2007/01/12/re-assessing-iraq-just-wars-etc


Re-assessing Iraq, Just Wars etc


The day before the president’s speech, I got email from some people asking me why I’m such an idiot, how I can reconcile Christianity with war, how I could reconcile the present engagement with the “Just War” musings of Aquinas, etc.<snip>

The response is this: When did Jesus say there should be no war? Jesus recognised that some things simply were what they were. He was, in some ways, the ultimate pragmatist; “render unto Ceasar what is Ceasar and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21) and “”A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.” (Matthew 10:24) Scripture says “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven/A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant./A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build.” (Eccl 3;1-3)

No sane person likes war. But war sometimes comes. And the “Just War” theology is very clear that war may be Just when it is waged to ultimately spare more lives than it takes, to stop an inexorable advancement of evil.<snip>

I also think this is a WH under seige in an unprecedented way. Imagine a corporation or a network trying to improve or contain a situation while its members are leaking everything to the press, and then consider how much more difficult it would be for them to take constructive action in the face of that. I do think this WH has allowed itself to be distracted in its management of the war by a lot of pissant ankle biters who are not serious about anything at all beyond politicizing things and acquiring power. <snip>

[Demit]

1. I'll take your word for it that she's 'nice'—I didn't read past the part where she

calls critics of the war "pissant ankle biters who are not serious about anything at all beyond politicizing things and acquiring power." Perhaps she goes on to explain that, in her nice way, but it doesn't interest me to read it.

[papau]

2. LOL - point taken - "nice" for a R'WINGER - right wing lite="only 10% name calling"

I don't read many RW sites in a month - but her's seems a bit nicer than most.

But the arguments made I thought were interesting because they were so weak.