Translation: The Justice of War (a category of the Just War tradition)
When is it right to use force as last resort?

Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~John Adams

Antiwar depends on which war
when one adheres to Just War—it isn’t all and none—
The militant mistake us all as meek.
The August One would be the first to say
save ourselves we must
in measure and as meets the dire need,
defends the life and limb of all we love—
and then our duty goes beyond—
if not the best of us and strong—
who protects the weak?
We must!
Recall the killing fields, the Holocaust!
And on and on—Rwanda—now Sudan!

Some say war is always with us, as reasons enough;
some more: It’s politics another way;
the wisest: the mere existence of sin doesn’t make sin okay--
in a war the guilty are punished and innocents always pay;
the pacifists may no more than wish the worst away
while the wicked kill the innocents day-by-day.
In the end, we can only weigh the sins of war
against the certain sin; the worse sin—
could be, maybe no way, the call to arms—
choose the least harm!—
such was the Good War, the Cold War; one yay, one nay—
the least harm cannot but be the greatest good.

Today, while we delay, debate the evils
we don’t stop, hundreds die, die, die, every day:
Darfur meets the Just tests,
Iraq does not.
How long do we reason with rocks?

© Helga Ross 2007