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One more thing: I think Nick Kristof, at the New York Times, is a pretty thoughtful columnist. He had a piece this week on what questions should and should not be raised about Obama’s missile strike plan. (It largely comes down on the President’s side, fwiw, but I think it frames the issues pretty well.) http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/opinion/kristof-the-right-questions-on-syria.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0
Jadaliyya has been doing a daily listing of news and analysis from a variety of sources. Here’s the latest one:
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/14011/syria-news-update-(4-september-2013)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/08/29/9-questions-about-syria-you-were-too-embarrassed-to-ask/
I think Laura’s comments are misleading, because the thread isn’t about just war theory. The question asked was, if you had a friend who wanted to form a reasonable opinion about what was the case in Syria, where would you send them to? I’m not opposed to just war theory being discussed here, but it’s a different question than the one asked. To answer the question being asked, the Washington Post ran a blog last Sunday about what is actually the case in Syria.
I would recommend that this person ask whether the situation in Syria satisfies the criteria and principles of Just War theory.
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pol116/justwar.htm
I think Just War theory can be a useful tool IF one is approaching these principles with a willingness to seek out honest answers, rather than trying to fortify one’s pre-established convictions. If one is not persuaded by pacifism, the questions Just War theory raises give a very helpful framework for thinking about military intervention.
Laura Darling