Terrorist groups cannot declare war. War is declared when there exists a just cause for going to war. Despite various ideologies of what is just, terror groups use an act of aggression which I believe is unjust. Aggression cannot be justified because it involves attacking individuals without a good reason. Terrorists deliberately use force against noncombatants for ideological ends with the intentions of causing fear among a wider population. The terror groups might be made of state or non-state actors.
The response to terrorism is not really a war. I believe terrorism has been exaggerated and is used to justify ineffective and immoral policies. The criteria for a just war are right intentions, legitimate authority, proportionality, last resort, and a chance of success ( Kaminski, 2015) . War is termed as just when only carried out by sovereign nations because of protecting their citizens from threats of external enemies, meaning no sub-state actors have the ability to engage in such a war ( Rodin, 2004) . The war on terror seeks to restore peace and the status quo, although there is an element of revenge which questions the element of right intentions.
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The intentions can be considered right with the primary motivation of peace despite a country having less altruistic secondary goals. War should be the last resort, and peaceful options should be attempted first when they present possibilities of better solutions ( Kasher & Yadlin, 2005) . The war on counterterrorism presents more harm than good, and it would be better to avoid it in the first place. Moreover, the war on terror does not have realistic chances of success. The violence caused as a resort of the war on terror will ultimately be without reason because the intentions of war cannot be achieved reasonably. Response to terrorism is not a war because moral violations are justified by increased chances of success, but it is unjustifiable because actions are futile without success.
References
Kaminski, J. (2015). The Morality of Counterterrorism. A Just War Theory Analysis of US Counterterrorism after 9/11.
Kasher, A., & Yadlin, A. (2005). Military ethics of fighting terror: an Israeli perspective. Journal of Military Ethics , 4 (1), 3-32.
Rodin, D. (2004). War and self-defense. Ethics & International Affairs , 18 (1), 63-68.
