Just-War Thinking: An Answer to George Weigel, by By Phil Lawler

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture, July 23, 2025

Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.

Writing in the National Catholic Register last week, my friend George Weigel complained that the tradition of just-war analysis had been “folded, spindled, and mutilated” by some writers who questioned the wisdom of the US bombing raid against Iranian nuclear-enrichment facilities. Although he did not mention me by name, I suspect that I was one of the offenders he had in mind—not only because I had argued that the bombing did not meet just-war criteria, but also because the first “fallacy” on his list was a statement that I have made frequently. His argument deserves a reply.

George Weigel has been a consistent and able defender of American military action, direct or through proxies, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. So it is not surprising that he would approve of the latest US intervention in Iran. (And today, with the benefit of hindsight, I can admit that my concerns have proven mostly unfounded. But more on that later.) Still I was taken aback by his bold rejection of what he terms: “Fallacy No. 1: The just war way of thinking begins with a ‘presumption against war.’” No, it doesn’t, Weigel insists. …

Continue reading >>>>>>>>>