[smoothmoniker]

The crux of the current debate on Iraq seems to rest on the criteria by which war may be justified. There are not many who would hold that taking up arms is never justified in any circumstance; neither are there many who hold the opposite extreme, that "might makes right", and any who have strength may wield it at will.

While there has been a great deal of discussion surrounding the question of whether those standards have been met, there has not been much discussion surrounding how the standards ought to be constructed.

With that in mind, where does the dividing line stand? In homage to Augustine's theory on "Just War", what list of criteria must be met, and what standards must not be violated, in order for warfare to be ethically and morally justified?

-sm