Vance and Trump allies invoke ‘just war theory’ to legitimize Iran action. Experts say it ‘fails every single criteria’
Top Republicans have invoked a centuries-old moral doctrine to defend the ongoing war against Iran.
Last week, Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson — first and second in the presidential line of succession — explicitly cited “just war” theory while speaking about the Middle East conflict.
They wielded the theory as a cudgel to castigate Pope Leo, whose staunch opposition to the weekslong war has ignited a high-profile clash between the Vatican and the White House.
But, the Republican leaders’ application of the doctrine — which dates back over a thousand years — is fundamentally flawed, according to experts in theology, philosophy and military strategy.
“You can apply the Just War principles to this conflict — and the current U.S. operation fails against every single criteria,” David Whetham, a professor of ethics and the military profession at King’s College London, told The Independent.
During a Turning Point USA event in Georgia last Tuesday, Vance took issue with the pope’s sweeping denunciation of armed conflict.
On April 10, Leo, the first U.S.-born pontiff, wrote on X: “God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.”
Vance, a former atheist who converted to Catholicism in 2019, questioned how the Bishop of Rome could take such a stance and urged him to “be careful” when opining on theological matters.
“There is more than a thousand-year tradition of just war theory,” the vice president said. “Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated France from the Nazis? Was God on the side of the Americans who liberated Holocaust camps?”
The next day, Johnson became the second GOP leader to cite the longstanding doctrine.
“I was taken a little bit aback just honestly, frankly, by something that was said. I think [the pope] said several days back that something about those who engage in war — you know that Jesus doesn’t hear their prayers or something,” Johnson, a Southern Baptist, told reporters.
“It is a very well settled matter of Christian theology,” he added. “There’s something called the just war doctrine. There’s a time to every purpose under heaven.”
Just war theory is a framework of military ethics rooted in ancient civilizations — such as Egypt, Greece, and Rome — that has been refined over millennia by religious figures and scholars.
Though not enshrined in law, it is routinely invoked by Christian leaders and has deeply shaped wartime regulations, from the Geneva Conventions to U.S. military handbooks.
