WOULD A US PREEMPTIVE STRIKE AGAINST NORTH KOREA BE MORALLY JUSTIFIABLE?

As I write this post, it appears that armed conflict between the US, its allies and North Korea is inevitable.

The threat of a nuclear missile attack from North Korea is accelerating, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said during his most recent visit to Seoul.  In remarks alongside South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-mool, Mattis accused the North of illegal and unnecessary missile and nuclear programs — and vowed to defeat any attack.

The Defense Secretary stated that North Korea continues to engage in "outlaw" behavior.  “North Korea has accelerated the threat that it poses to its neighbors and the world through its illegal and unnecessary missile and nuclear weapons programs," he said, adding that U.S.-South Korean military and diplomatic collaboration thus has taken on "a new urgency."

"I cannot imagine a condition under which the United States would accept North Korea as a nuclear power," the Defense Secretary said.

Many people assume that only a war kills innocent people. However, “false peace” or a peace that solves no problems can be just as dangerous. 

The so-called “Peace Movement” of the 1960s destabilized and disrupted the Vietnam war to ensure a victory for the Communists.  As a result of this “false peace,” the Communists slaughtered nearly three million innocent Cambodians and Vietnamese when they gained power.

In contrast to false “peace” movements, the “Just War Theory,” espoused by St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Thomas Aquinas, refers to situations in which the use of military force is justifiable. 

The conditions under which a just war may be executed include the following.

1) The war must be a response to an action of direct aggression.

2) The war must be in the protection of the innocent.

3) The war must be declared by a legitimate authority.

4) The war must be fought with the right intent.

5) The peaceful conclusion of the war must be non-vindictive.

In addition, both Augustine and Thomas argued that war justly may be resorted to in order to preserve or achieve  a just peace that leaves the world better off than it was prior to the resort of force.

But what about a preemptive war?  Whether or not it is justified has become a complex and contradicting subject for moral theologians. 

Would not a preemptive military strike against a threatening aggressor justify a state responding to an imminent attack once the targeted state had seen it coming but before it had felt its impact?

The problem, of course, lies in the possibility that states can misjudge the “threat”. 

What really constitutes an imminent threat? 

It is this confusion and blurred definition which could lead to states acting out of aggression and uncertainty rather than a solid justified move which can constitute a pre-emptive war. 

In the nuclear age, just the threat of unleashing a nuclear attack must be regarded as an act of aggression in and of itself.  

In a nuclear war, waiting for a first strike before engaging in combat is untenable.  The potential loss of life and restoration of civil order for the foreseeable future render such a strategic policy unacceptable.

So what are the ethical, the moral conditions which would justify a preemptive strike and the war which would follow?

One ethicist, Michael Walzer, has put forward some conditions that he thinks must be satisfied to justify a pre-emptive strike.

1) There must be an obvious intention to do injury.

2) There must be active preparations that turn that intention into a positive danger.

3) There must be a situation in which the risk of defeat will be greatly increased if the strike is delayed.

I put it to the readers of this blogsite, what thinkest you?

Given North Korea’s past, present and expected actions and threats, would a preemptive strike against that country be justified or not?

It may perhaps be the most weighty question confronting our future way of life for decades to come.

May the Lord God above grant us the wisdom and prudence of arriving at a solution which is right and  reasonable and will ensure a lasting and just peace.  

Lord hear our prayer and grant us Your blessings in these frightening and dangerous times.