The Catholic teachings on war are complex and multifaceted enough to require a separate chapter. Although a part of CST, the just war tradition is often treated separately from the quartet of themes examined in Chapter 7. This is odd because “just war tradition” even has the word “just” in it, which seems to necessitate a grounding in a particular understanding of justice. Therefore, this chapter draws attention to how the just war tradition is rooted in the themes of justice set out in Chapter 7. Before doing so, however, it is necessary both to explore what the just war tradition entails and how it differs from rival moralities with respect to the topic of war. First, we investigate the total war mentality. Next, we analyze pacifism. The just war tradition is somewhere beyond these two poles. A third section presents a test case; we analyze whether the use of predator drones in the context of the War on Terror can be squared with the Catholic just war tradition. The final section makes summary clarifications with respect to the current chapter and the whole of Part III.

TOTAL WAR

The “mentality of total war” refers to ethical claims that two specific rules of conduct do not apply in warfare: proportionality and discrimination. Proportionality means not visiting destruction upon the enemy to a degree that exceeds the amount needed to restore justice. Discrimination refers to not deliberately attacking noncombatants (i.e., discriminating between combatants and noncombatants). The total war mentality says that these caveats are not applicable in warfare. You do what you need to do to win and then salt the earth so that the enemy never again even thinks of messing with you.