Opt-out alternative invites awareness

October 21, 2005

Spectrum\Paul Maguire

Recently, the Anchorage Daily News posted a photo of homecoming queens on Army Hummers and an article on No Child Left Behind and the military recruitment of our minor children in schools, including comments by Anchorage School District personnel supporting the positive relationship with &#8220our” military.

While it's unpopular in Alaska to speak &#8220truth to power” regarding the relationship of the oil companies and the military to our government and politics, we need to provide opportunities for our students to make informed decisions about the impact of both on local and global communities.

For example, do our minor students know and understand that the Iraq war was condemned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (9/13/02), as well as by Episcopalians, Jews, Lutherans, Mennonites, Methodists, Presbyterians, Quakers, Unitarian Universalists, United Church of Christ, and World Council of Churches (8/30/02)? This group states: &#8220As Christians, we are concerned by the likely human costs of war with Iraq, particularly for civilians.

&#8220We are convinced that the gain for humanity would be proportionate to the loss. Neither are we convinced that it has been publicly demonstrated that all reasonable alternative means of containing Iraq's development of weapons of mass destruction have been exhausted. We call upon our governments to pursue these diplomatic means in active cooperation with the United Nations and to stop the apparent rush to war.”

Ethicists and theologians, military strategists and politicians have spent almost 2,000 years working out a theory of how you can justify war when it is so horrific. It's called, aptly enough, &#8220Just War” theory. Taught at the War College in Washington, D.C., in Christian seminaries and political science departments, Just War theory is the major thinking of most religious traditions and military strategists on how to justify war.

Susan B. Thistlethwaite wrote in the Chicago Tribune, Oct. 14, 2002, writes: &#8220Just War theory first began with the agonizing reflections of a saint. Saint Augustine looked at the horrors barbarian invaders were inflicting on the Roman citizens and he asked himself if a Christian could ever justify going to war.

&#8220He answered a very qualified ‘yes.' A Christian can go to war if it is to ‘defend the vulnerable other.' His version didn't even include self-defense. Another saint, Thomas Aquinas, added self-defense about 500 years later. You have a just cause, said Aquinas, when you are defending yourself. You have to have right authority (government), you have to have right intention (not just love violence), you need to have a good outcome (more good should result than the evil of violence), you need to be proportional (not use more force than necessary), you need to have reasonable hope for success (peace should result), and it must be the very last resort (all diplomacy must be exhausted).”

Did America meet these criteria for war with Iraq? Are we defending ourselves? Did we exhaust every diplomatic measure? Is the war proportional (100,000 Iraqi civilians killed)?

As retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, former head of Central Command, said in the Oct. 11, 2002, Chicago Tribune, &#8220I believe he (Saddam Hussein) is Š containable at the moment. War and violence are a very last resort.” Clearly, the general has studied his Just War theory.

As noted above, the No Child Left Behind Act allows for military recruiting in our schools. There is also a provision for families to &#8220opt out” of this recruitment effort. As importantly, counter-recruitment efforts are supported by the Ninth Circuit Court ruling by support of:

€ placing literature displays in career and counseling centers;

€ setting up displays at career and college fairs;

€ placing posters and literature on bulletin boards;

€ having speakers and printed materials in classrooms;

€ running ads in student newspapers.

The &#8220opt out” provision is addressed in the School Recruiting Program handbook from the U.S. Army Recruiting Command (USAREC Pamphlet 350-13) and page 10 (11-3) in NCLB.

Finally, is a student a patriot when promoting peaceful solutions? Do our young men and women fight and die in vain?

Our children should have an opportunity to reflect and dialogue on these questions, before putting their lives on the line.

Paul Maguire, Ph.D., is a Palmer resident and professor at UAA.