The Principles of the Just War Doctrine and the Invasion of Iraq

Probably no other contemporary war since Vietnam has been more controversial than the recent invasion of Iraq in March 2003 by a US-led coalition. The coalition was formed by some 40 nations, although the only countries that provided troops in addition to the United States and the United Kingdom were Australia, Poland and Denmark, and six of the members of the coalition were such small countries that they did not have an army. This ‘Coalition of the willing’ invaded Iraq on the mistaken belief that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and was helping terrorist organizations including Al Qaeda. The Coalition also argued that Iraq was terrorizing its population and that the invasion would bring democracy to Iraq and eventually to the Middle East. In this paper, the invasion of Iraq is analyzed according to the principles of the just war doctrine.