On Not "Staying the Course" - Part 1

Here's my counter post responding to this this entry on my friend Chris' blog.

Please read: this Lew Rockwell article.

Here's my view: Going to war in Iraq was wrong at the time (based on my understanding of just war doctrine). Continuing to fight the war is wrong at this time (for many of the same reasons).

Here's a few paragraphs from that Lew Rockwell article really hammering home his point:

But we need to remember that this is not a philosophical parlor game. This isn’t about editorial strategy. Real people die in war. Families are shattered, men are tortured, lives are ruined, enemies are made for generations, governments become more corrupt through their war lies and spending, whole regions are pushed to loathe the occupier, and society and culture become imbued with a tolerance for spilling blood.

You care about life? Oppose war. Worry about the disregard for the sanctity of God’s most precious creation? Oppose war. Seek the well-being of all, and peaceful cooperation among the whole human family? Oppose war. In our world today, with weapons of mass destruction in the hands of lying governments, the idea of a just war is a pure abstraction, one that probably can never appear in reality, as Benedict XVI noted before his election.

What about those who placed their imprimatur on war? They bear responsibility. They are free to change their minds, but they bear responsibility. They can be forgiven, but their culpability is a burden they must carry, one to be worked out in acts of penance.

Yes, this is serious stuff.