Musings about Pacifism and Just War

Comment I made during FB conversation:

During the Viet Nam war, I felt completely persuaded that we were wrongly preventing self-determination of another country, based on unreasonable fears and prejudices. We also visited horrors on the country of Viet Nam. If you look at St. Augustine's doctrine of "just war," the Viet Nam war clearly failed the test.

This was seems different.  There is a country that has been wrongly invaded by someone else who is trying to remove their power of self-determination.  With respect to this war, we are on the side that the Russians were on during the Viet Nam war -- helping a country that was wrongly attacked.

It's a challenge for me, as a Quaker, to my pacifism.  I'm still praying about that.

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During the Viet Nam war, the US military did not accept as conscientious objectors those who said that the Viet Nam war was not a Just War under the St. Augustine test.  You had to object to all wars.   

The US military should not be an arbiter of my pacifism, tho.