Libya: A “just” war? (Just war, part 4)

Benghazi, Libya
Benghazi, Libya. Photo by Dennixo, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 Unported (from Wikimedia Commons)

[Note from Kathie Malley-Morrison: Today we once again welcome guest contributor Dr. Michael Corgan, for his ongoing series on just war.]

How does the war in Libya, for such it is, measure up to the principles of just war?

First impressions are that it is just, so far. War was “declared” by competent authority; the U.N. Security Council Resolution and France, at least, had recognized the Benghazi rebels as a legitimate government. Qaddafi’s threat to hunt down enemies in their closets, apparent shelling of civilian areas, and promises to show no mercy indicates war was a necessary means when other dire warnings had failed. So far only military targets seem have been hit by the anti-Qaddafi forces which satisfies proportionality.

However a couple of serious questions remain. First, what sort of peace will be had? It’s not a just war until a just peace has been instituted. Lincoln’s “malice toward none, with charity for all” was prescient in this regard.

An even more troubling question is “Why don’t all the same (essentially Western) conditions apply to Bahrain?” The anti-demonstrator crackdown there has been as nasty as Qaddafi’s. And the Saudis have pitched in to help authorities suppress the demonstrations. Both Libya and Bahrain have oil but Bahrain has a U.S. Naval base.

If the Libyan war is just, then what are the same participants doing about Bahrain? This Bahrain inaction undercuts the “justness” of the Libyan action.

Michael T. Corgan, Ph.D., Associate Chair and Associate Professor of International Relations, Boston University