Neo-conservatives, or "neo-cons," tend to believe that America should act decisively, and if necessary militarily, to secure its interests and those of its allies.

Realists, by contrast, tend to believe that American power works best when it is used sparingly and behind the scenes. It was realists like the first President Bush and his national security advisor, Brent Scowcroft, who opted to leave the brutal Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, in power at the end of the first Gulf War. And it was neo-cons like former deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz and influential Pentagon advisor Richard Perle who lobbied long and hard for Saddam's removal.


Wolfowitz (left) touring an Iraqi prison in 2003
© Getty Images

In the run-up to the 2003 invasion, there was general agreement among neo-cons and realists that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and that Iraq posed a threat to the United States and the world. However, neo-cons and realists disagreed strongly about how best to counter that threat.

While neo-cons wanted the U.S. military to topple Saddam, realists preferred to work with the international community to contain him. And whereas neo-cons hoped that a new government in Iraq would spur democratic change throughout the Middle East, realists worried that U.S. intervention in Iraq would generate anger against the United States throughout the world.

In summary, neo-cons pushed for war against Iraq at least in part because they felt it would stimulate the spread of freedom and democracy in a highly repressive region. Realists, by contrast, warned against war at least in part because they thought it would create more problems than it would resolve.

Based on what you know already, describe how both the neo-con defense of war in Iraq and the realist rejection of it drew from elements of "just war" theory.

The History Study Center contains thousands of scholarly articles from academic journals. Within the Journals unit of the History Study Center, do a search for the phrase "just war" and limit your search to citations and abstracts.

With reference to at least three of the resulting seven articles, write a 500-word essay making the case that either neo-conservatism or realism is the true descendent of "just war" theory.