Why are some wars commemorated and others—such as Canada’s involvement in the Korean conflict—largely forgotten?
HH: There are “good” wars and “bad” wars, though obviously not for the participants. Korea was a United Nations peace action that was never a declared war. One minute we were fighting the North Koreans, then the Chinese. At the end of the day, very little changed. People need to feel a war has made a difference and the end justifies the commitment and sacrifice. Korea did not. IC: So what distinguishes a just war from an unjust one? HH: A just war basically means you are fighting a visible and aggressive threat to your security and way of life. The people, the government and the military have to agree there is an identifiable threat worth waging war against. IC: By that standard, how do the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan measure up? HH: Afghanistan is a legitimate war. This is where the terrorists came from, where they trained and where they remain. Iraq, on the other hand, is an unjust war. The UN and the American people were lied to; there were no weapons of mass destruction. T
