Just War Against Terror By Jean Bethke Elshtain

Name Tutor Course Date Book Review Summary Just War Against Terror: The Burden of American Power in a Violent World which was written by Jean Bethke Elshtain in 2003 is a politically engaging and highly provocative book. Elshtain supports war during periods of crisis and directs her assertions on reasoned attacks against the terrorism defenses that have been constant since the tragic September eleven attacks. The author argues that nations that support radical terrorism acts on the principle of poverty and political conflict highly reduce the accountability of terrorism. This is due to their infringement of western values for the purpose of promoting Islamic culture. Elshtain discussed comprehensively on the origins of such reasoning and traces them towards misalignment of perspectives in the Judeo-Christian ethics of peace and war. Most pacifists compounded these sentiments. Elshtain also goes ahead and asks whether pacifists’ alternatives are highly inadequate and impossible. Elshtain also mentions that how does a person respond to acts of terror that are comprised of an act of war perpetrated against a person’s citizenry (Elshtain 189). The main focus of the book revolves around the ethics of responsibility as Elshtain emphasizes on readers to ask complex questions concerning the nature of Islam and also their personal ethical values. This book clearly offers a refreshingly clear perspective in response towards terror in the society today. Features and ideas highlighted Elshtain provides a conventional moral framework for the United States war against terrorism through effectively arguing that the military action of the U.S is not based on self-preservation but highly ethical. Compared to pacifists that equate justice with a complete rejection of violence, Elshtain highlights a subtle theory of a justified war in association to the current confli...