Arguments against just war theory
Not everyone accepts that just war theory is a functional way to look at war. Below are some arguments against this theory in the modern world.
Can there be just war in an era of nuclear weapons?
One of the main points of jus in bellum requires that there be discrimination
between combatants and non-combatants. Some forms of modern warfare have made
this impossible. The use of air strikes started a trend where the targets of
the attacks were military, but the victims often included a large number of innocents
who happened to be in the area.
While the death of innocents is unfortunate, just war can accept these losses
as long as they were accidental. If a bomb falls on the wrong target or innocent
people were not known to be in that location, their deaths may be ruled as accidental.
However, the practices of aerial bombing come with the general assumption that
there will be death of innocents, and that these casualties are worth the overall
success of the mission. This completely contradicts the idea of the just war.
The use of nuclear weapons in warfare totally removes the distinction between combatants and innocents, and is hard to figure into any just war definition. Nuclear war produces a level of destruction that could never be proven to affect only the enemy combatants. Even when the missile hits the intended target, the devastation continues to have an impact on the surrounding communities, killing many innocent people. It is generally ruled as impossible to fight a just war with nuclear weapons.
Can just war be used to fight terrorism?
Just war theory requires that the end goal must be peace and that the task
not be attempted if success is not probable. These objectives get complicated
in the war against terror. Many people argue that a war against terrorism
actually fuels the enemy cause as the fighting continues. With the defensive
energy generated from a war, more previously benign people join the terrorist
movement, thereby prolonging the ultimate goal of peace and preventing success.
In this case, just war theory is not a functional justification.