ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the ethical presumptions of the just war tradition and ask what these might mean for judging terrorism and our response to it. It summarizes the moral presumptions of contemporary international law and apply these to the war against terrorism. It considers how governments and nations should respond to the threat of evil. The Patriot Act passed by Congress shortly after the 9/11 attacks allows the Justice Department to detain for as long as it deems necessary those suspected of involvement in terrorist acts against Americans. Moreover, he promises that "America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling." The goal of America, the president affirms, is "to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way." The just war tradition in moral philosophy requires warfare to have a just purpose and be fought using just means.
