Total War Vs Just War Theory

Before in the introduction, the essay introduced limited war and total war, and there is a difference between the two wars. Limited war is war with restriction such as weapon usage (not using nuclear weapons) and territories involved. A limited war follows the ‘Just War Theory’, while total war is solely meant on pure obliteration of opposing side.

The idea of Just War Theory was suggested by Ambrose (Perry, “Ethics and War in Comparative Religious Perspective”), formulated by Augustine, and finally refined by Aquinas. Just War Theory was not made to justify a war (since everyone can say that even total destruction was just), but rather it brings war under control of justice, so that when all nations practice it, war would eventually cease

to extinct (Draayer, “God and War: What the Bible Says About the Just War Principle”). War can be considered ‘Just’ when these criteria, Jus Ad Bellum and Jus in Bello, are met (“Just War Theory”).
Jus Ad Bellum means the right to go to war. There are four characteristics: just authority, just cause, just intention, and last resort. Just authority means that only the government (terrorist excluded) may declare war against other nations. Just cause means that only defensive reason can be considered ‘just’. Just intention means that their intention for war is peace. Finally, last resort means that the war can only be done when peace cannot be attained through political or diplomatic means. On the other hand, Jus in Bello means the right conduct in war. There are three characteristics: Proportionality, Discrimination, and Responsibility. Proportionality means that the military must know when to stop when the country has achieved their goals. Discrimination means that the civilians must not be involved in the bloodshed. Finally, responsibility means that the country is not responsible with the side effect of the military (“Just War Theory”). This means that sacrificing all of the military lives for a sake of peace is considered an ‘unjust’ war (Barrick, “The Christian and War”, 219).
An extension towards Just War Theory is preventive war. Preventive war can be considered ‘just’ if an enemy’s aggression is unavoidable. It supports first-strike option and declaration of war is not needed. In addition, nuclear weapons is permitted if necessary (Barrick, “The Christian War”, 220).