According to Rush and his ditto-heads, anyone that opposes war in Iraq (or anywhere else) or thinks Duhbya is either inept or mad is un-American, anti-capitalism, and/or communist.

Being a business-man, former Naval Academy attendee, military vet, member of the criminal justice fraternity, et al., it would place me in an uncomfortable position to be so included.

Therefore, I went back to examine some of the philosophical defenses FOR engaging in the death and destruction that is war.

GWF Hegel said war allows history to unfold itself. You will note that any history text seems to be a chronological compendium of past wars and their battles.

If this is the study of the history of man and society we must examine if war is important and useful to a society?

The Spartans maintained that martial values create desireable character traits that reflect in the culture, society, family, and political structure.

Of course, the Athenians had a different view point on these values and this unfolded into the military defeat of the first great democracy.

From a deontological stand-point, war can be seen as a positive value itself--or, as an expression of positive values. Perhaps, we should war against Iraq to bring them the benefits of our form of democracy. War just might be able to force freedom on those poor people.

Then again, from a teleological stand-point war can be justified by being the means by which we can save the Iraqi people and transplant our values to that deprived land.

Destruction and violence might be the only thing they can understand and is simply a necessary evil to achieve our socially desirable ends.

It would follow a utilitarian principle if that war would both aid our national self-defense and boost a sagging economy by encouraging armament technology development and further replacement manufacturing of aging stockpiled arms. If we could save the Iraqi's and give ourselves the scientific benefits of a test lab for desert war, it might benefit everyone.

Then again, being a "blessed nation" we must keep in mind the concept of moral
justice. We can teach a lesson to those whose actions (or at least speeches) offend human decency.

Why, with this presnit, we might even fund the concept of a faith-based militia. Each religious denomination could hold drills, have their own store of weapons and be mobilized as the need presented itself. This would cover the constitutional objectives of the right to bear and maintain arms to a well ordered militia. Texas alone could field enough Baptists to have their own battalion.

The possibilities for spreading our logos would be un-limited.

Onward, Christian soldiers.

Publius