Feser: "Sheer sophistry..That a civilian says evil things or sympathizes with evil acts does not magically transform him into a non-civilian or make him a legitimate target of military action..just war principles"

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What follows is not a comment on current Israeli military action, because I have not followed it closely. It is a comment about the commentary on recent events. I keep seeing too many people, rightly appalled by Hamas’s wicked and utterly unjustifiable attack, expressing the judgement that just any old thing Israel might decide to do in retaliation would be justifiable, and “really” Hamas’s fault – as if, once an aggressor attacks, there are no moral rules governing what sort of retaliation might be inflicted.

This attitude is not only irrational, it is evil. It is the same warped thinking that leads terrorists like Hamas to rationalize the murder of babies and other civilians. Related to it is loose talk about what “they” did and what might therefore be done to “them” – as if what can be said about what Hamas has done can be applied to Palestinians in general. This is sheer sophistry. And it is irrelevant to the present point that some Palestinians sympathize with Hamas’s attack. That a civilian says evil things or sympathizes with evil acts does not magically transform him into a non-civilian or make him a legitimate target of military action.

Yes, just war principles can be difficult to apply in certain circumstances, especially when evildoers use civilians as shields, etc. But it is one thing to have to muddle through in figuring out how to apply just war principles, and quite another to throw them out altogether.

12:49 PM · Oct 13, 2023

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