The myriad atrocities committed by the organization known variously as the Islamic State, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have filled the news for over a year now. ISIS’ activities have prompted a military response by the United States, which has bombed ISIS forces … Continue reading Why the Campaign against ISIS Must End: A Just War Analysis
Five Great Anti-War Movies
Movies can be a valuable resource for consistent life ethic activists. A movie that touches on one of the life issues can engage someone’s imagination and emotions in a way that an essay, a news article, or even a novel cannot. Further, hosting a screening is a relatively easy way for students, religious communities, or … Continue reading Five Great Anti-War Movies
Renewing the Peace Movement
One part of promoting a consistent ethic of life that is very dear to my heart is the pursuit of peace, of finding ways for nations or other communities to resolve their conflicts nonviolently, without resort to the organized, large-scale killing that is war. In this piece, I will explain precisely how, as a Christian … Continue reading Renewing the Peace Movement
War on Marriage: Why Social Conservatives Should Oppose a Hawkish Foreign Policy
Americans who favor traditional marriage and family life—sometimes referred to as “social conservatives”—tend to be lumped together politically with those who favor hawkish foreign policies. In many cases, this categorization is no doubt accurate: many social conservatives do favor American military interventions. The association between concern for marriage and the family and a hawkish foreign … Continue reading War on Marriage: Why Social Conservatives Should Oppose a Hawkish Foreign Policy
A Globe-Trotting Detective Story: A Review of Dirty Wars
Dirty Wars, the documentary film counterpart to the book of the same name, begins its investigation of the secretive world of US counterterrorism operations with a disturbing episode set in Afghanistan. The book’s author, Jeremy Scahill, was working as a war correspondent in Afghanistan when he looked beyond the limited flow of information provided by … Continue reading A Globe-Trotting Detective Story: A Review of Dirty Wars
The Ongoing Struggle over Guantanamo Bay
Detainees at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been on hunger strike since early this year. The strike began in February 2013, with perhaps as few as 14 men participating; the number of participants grew over the following months and, as of July 2013, 106 detainees out of the total prison population … Continue reading The Ongoing Struggle over Guantanamo Bay
Three Questions on US Targeted Killings
The US government policy of killing suspected terrorists, whether by means of pilotless drones or Special Forces strikes, is now at least 10 years old. Estimates of how many have died because of this policy vary, but a conservative estimate is that roughly 2,000 people have been killed to date. Most of these targeted killings … Continue reading Three Questions on US Targeted Killings
The Obama Administration’s Broadly Defined Lethal Powers
Two documents have been made public this year that provide more information about the Obama administration’s targeted killing policy. The first is a Justice Department paper that describes the administration’s justification for killing American citizens who are living overseas and are thought to be terrorist leaders. The second is a letter from Attorney General Eric … Continue reading The Obama Administration’s Broadly Defined Lethal Powers
The “Light Footprint”: Economy and Secrecy in Obama’s Military Policies
Barack Obama is now more than three-and-a-half years into his presidency and at least a preliminary assessment of his approach to foreign policy is possible. Three journalists have each written such analyses, all of them published this year: Kill or Capture: The War on Terror and the Soul of the Obama Presidency, by Daniel Klaidman; The Obamians: … Continue reading The “Light Footprint”: Economy and Secrecy in Obama’s Military Policies
No-Win Scenario for Consistent Lifers? Thoughts Inspired by Bloodlands
History has a way of challenging your beliefs. Past human experience, with all its complexity, ambiguity, hard cases, and agonizing choices, can cast doubt on previous certainties about justice or right and wrong. Advocates of the consistent life ethic might find their beliefs challenged in this way by the extremely dark chapter of human experience … Continue reading No-Win Scenario for Consistent Lifers? Thoughts Inspired by Bloodlands
Peacemaking for Life 