Our Tragic Flaw

In the awkward position of accepting the Nobel Peace Prize just after announcing a catastrophic increase of commitment to the Afghanistan debacle, Obama evoked the doctrine of Just War.

How unfortunate. Just War was developed by the Catholic Church in order to justify violence that, almost without exception, directly violates the teachings of Jesus. Since then, this doctrine has been appropriated by states to justify wars of every kind.

The reason we are so committed to "bringing democracy" to Afghanistan/Pakistan as opposed to any number of other hotspots around the planet (including, say, much of the African continent) is the oil there. This is a war of greed, not national security--as everyone well knows.

If Obama were truly committed to transforming energy policy, addressing global climate change, reducing terrorism, and bringing peace to the world, he would focus his energies and dollars on a green revolution in the U.S. energy sector and a transformation of the consumption patterns of U.S. consumers. Until those two objectives are met--as a minimum--the U.S. will forever be involved in Unjust War.