Article December 17, 2001 Issue

A war historian's spiritual perspective

By Jerry Collester

War is hell! And I can well understand why some of the college students I talk to are "anti-war" activists in their earnest desire for peace. Some have concluded that the proper response to the barbarous acts of terrorism on September 11 is to "turn the other cheek." They seem to be saying that any military response to the perpetrators is ethically wrong and probably unchristian.

Having tussled with this philosophic barb before—in debates over intervention in the Korean conflict, or Vietnam, or the Gulf War—I come to a different conclusion.

Is war ever justified? For me the answer is a difficult "Yes."