Scholars issue letter justifying war

Academe, Mar/Apr 2002

Some voices in the academic community have been raised against American military actions since September 11; others have been fully supportive. A group of sixty individuals, including some prominent academics, issued an open letter in February justifying military action. The letter was released through two think tanks, the Institute for American Values and the Center of the American Experiment. It notes that some aspects of American culture-such as rampant consumerism, the idea that individuals are self-made and owe little to society or others, and an enormous entertainment industry that glorifies these trends-are problematic and that Americans have acted arrogantly toward other societies at times. Yet, the signatories argue, the essential ideals and values of America are "fundamental truths that pertain to all people." These include the ideas that all people are born equal and free; that the role of government is to protect and foster the conditions under which people can flourish; that people have the inviolable right to freedom of religion and conscience; and that killing in the name of God is contrary to religious faith.

The September 11 attackers, the letter says, belonged to a radical movement animated by a contempt for human life that clearly rejects these principles, and thus poses a threat to civilized life and the possibility of peace among nations. "We recognize that all war is terrible, representative finally of human political failure," the letter says, but "there are times when waging war is not only morally permitted, but morally necessary, as a response to calamitous acts of violence, hatred, and injustice. This is one of those times."