What are the major moral arguments against attacking Iraq?
Going to war against Iraq is inconsistent with the doctrine of just war as I understand it. It is in violation of legal obligations to which we have consented, and it also violates the statesman’s prime duty to behave cautiously and prudently in the face of extreme risk. Q: Let me ask you about the whole idea of preemptive strike. What’s the matter with that? A: The “just war” theory does not reject preemption across the board, but it carves out a very narrow and precise realm within which preemption is permissible. The threat has to be grave. It has to be immediate. It has to be such that the costs of delay are unbearable. If those criteria are satisfied, then preemption is legitimate. It may not be necessary, but it is at least legitimate. Q: And have they been met in this case? A: In my judgment, those criteria for justifiable preemption have not been met in the case of Iraq, and that is why the well-known scholar Michael Walzer has called the proposed intervention in Iraq a “preven
