Was the Gulf war a just war ?

A detailed Summary of Was the Gulf war a just war ?

In 1991 the new international order is threatened by one man, Saddam Hussain, who has deliberately broken the international rules by aggressing one of his Arab neighbours -Kuwait. A far-reaching decision is then taken : to declare war on Iraq. More than 10 years later, the situation in the Gulf region remains unsolved. This observation raises a question : What was the use of a war in 1991 if the international order is still in jeopardy 10 years later ? Was the Gulf War a "just war" ?

Then the concept of "just war" reappears suddenly. But the notion is far from being a new one. It pervades the western tradition on war from Saint Augustine to Grotius and later on the international law. This "doctrine" provides us with two useful elements : One the one hand, the concept of jus as bellum addresses the question of the justification of force ; On the other hand, the concept of jus in bellum concerns the restraints and limits on how force may be use. Thus are expressed the criteria to define whether or not a war is "just".

We can justify the use of force thanks to the concepts of "just cause", last resort, right authority, and proportionality.

First, what is a "just cause" ? In the tradition, for a just cause to

A particular form of the use of force can be justified in regard to the principles of proportionality and discrimination, which seek to limit the war in its conduct. As a result, the concept of jus in bellum appears to be a will to break with the notion of total war which implies mass destruction.

Hence the question is : Has the strategy led by the coalition been an aggressive2 one ? Let us have a look at the air campaign. The new technologies of precision guidance have led some to the conclusion that the Gulf War was a "clean war". Yet, this point is truly questionable. To address the issue, it is necessary to refer to two concrete elements or events. The first one is the existence of a so-called "Gulf War Syndrome", a medical condition affecting many veterans from the Gulf War attributed to the exposure to chemicals. Can we then speak of a limited war when some combatants continued to feel the consequences of the fights ten years later ? The second element refers to an attack led by the coalition on the Basra Road. During the retreat of the Iraqi Army from Kuwait City, waves of aircraft attacked the hopelessly vulnerable convoy. Attacking them was comparable to a "duck shoot"15. Such a use of force was unjustified and justly shocked the international community. What is more, not only were the combatants stricken but also the civilians, which lead me to introduce a second notion : the notion of discrimination.

In the case of the Gulf War, the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait appears to be a textbook case of aggression. Saddam Hussain resorted to the justification that Kuwait once was part of historic Iraq4. Anyway, by attacking its sovereign neighbour, Iraq broke the most fundamental rules international law5. As a result, a statement was issued by the UN calling for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Iraqi forces6. Consequently, the war engaged 6 months later can be seen as the result of the Iraqi refusal to respect the deadline imposed by the UN. Thus, the Gulf war, as concerns its motivation, can be consider a "just war" or at least a legal one. It is there a real declaration of war against Baghdad, and not a "wild" aggression. On the other hand, it is obvious that we could question the "purity" of the motives of the coalition. The Western world would have probably not have intervened in the Gulf if it had not been for the fact that political and economic interests were at stake, such as the oil. Yet this does not invalidate the conclusion of a "just cause". Kuwait's economic status does not alter the fact that it has been attacked by Iraq. "To say that the world reacted only out of economic reasons is as incorrect as to say that it reacted only out of just war principles"7. Accordingly, the principles at stake were crucial to the decision to wage war.

exist, the purpose of the war must be done to redress in some way a wrong done by the enemy2. More specifically i

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Approximate Word count = 1957
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History