Introduction
Perhaps war is one of the most controversial issues. The main thing about war is who and how should define whether war is fair and the reasons for starting it are really serious. This is actually what the Just War theory is about. It is a doctrine, which states that all conflicts should fit some religious, ethic and political criteria.
Main text
The Just War theory has the direct roots in religion and Christianity particularly. First, this theory is regarded to be a Catholic teaching proposed by the Catholic bishops of the United States. Second, the Christianity roots can be traced in the ideas of Thomas Aquinas and Augustine of Hippo. They also suggested that war should be just and waged according to the certain rules. These days their ideas are still urgent and are the subject of the various debates.
Basically, there are two main points of view that the Just War theory is reviewed: jus ad bellum and jus in bello. The first one states when it is right to use the military force. The second one tells when it is acceptable to resort to the use of the military force.
The core aspect of jus ad bellum is a just case. Just case means that the reason for waging war has to be just. Force can be used only in case of an extremely serious threat to the society.
Jus ad bellum also tells that the military force can be used when all the other measures were used and there are no peaceful options of settling the conflict. Force should also be used if the benefits of the war will be proportional to the possible harm and evils.
Jus in bello concept says that the destruction and harm of the military force should be minimal. It is wrong to attack civilian objects and kill civilians. The principle of the proportionality of good and evil while using the force is also a distinctive feature of jus in bello.
Now, let us consider the two wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) that the United States is currently involved in. From the Just War theory it seems that these wars are not right. For instance, the principle of proportionality is violated. The benefits of the wars are minimal, but the harms and evils are really significant. Perhaps it sounds disappointing, but the United States did not achieve its main goals in these wars. The USA wanted to promote democracy, but instead of it Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from the abuses of the human rights. This can be perfectly illustrated by the cases of Abu Ghraib and the rape and murder of the 14 years old Iraqi girl. These countries also suffer the humanitarian crisis, numerous deaths of the civilians and thousands of refugees who had to leave their homes.
If we consider these wars from the economical point of view, the United States lost a lot of money during the wars. And it is obvious that will be losing the money further, since nobody knows when these wars will be finished. For instance, by December 2007 the United States lost 474 billion dollars. Further this sum is expected to increase up to 1.9 trillion.
Summary
However, there is one justifying reason for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These countries are associated with a threat to the people of the USA and many other countries. These countries were suspected to have the weapons of mass destruction and being connected with the terrorists.
Thus, according to the Just War Theory, the United States had just reason for starting these wars as they were fighting for peace and the democratic principles of living.