Andrew Bacevich was born and raised a Catholic in Indiana, graduated from West Point in 1969, served in Vietnam, and had a career in the Army until 1992, achieving the rank of Colonel. He obtained a Ph.D. from Princeton in American Diplomatic History. He has taught at Boston University and written many books, including "The New American Militarism" (2005), and "The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism" (2008). He is also a recent founder of The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He joins us on this Veterans Day weekend to talk about American myths and speaks to the tenets of Catholic Just War Theory (JWT).
Catechism of the Catholic Church (2309) reads:
The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:
- the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
- all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
- there must be serious prospects of success;
- the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modem means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.
These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the "just war" doctrine.
0:00 Intro
3:50 Upbringing
7:00 Thoughts on Vietnam
11:55 American mythology
---self-defense (JWT)
---American exceptionalism
---last resort (JWT)
16:45 Neoconservative views on the use of force
19:18 Israel and the use of force
24:06 Prospects for success (JWT)
25:50 Use of arms must not produce evils and disorders greater than the evil to be eliminated (JWT)
30:23 Where is the Catholic Church?
33:27 Have you changed or has the country changed?
36:20 Next book
37:40 Advice for young Catholics looking to go into the military
38:45 The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
Find Andrew Bacevich at:
The Quincy Institute
https://quincyinst.org
Find his books here:
https://www.amazon.com/Andrew-J-Bacevich/e/B003AQW7VG?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1573418729&sr=8-1
Find us at : www.catholicsagainstmilitarism.com
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