When our hand is forced....

War is something that should not be entered into lightly. It is still horrible to see pictures of the Vietnam War and to witness the effects that it is has had on its veterans. War has almost no benefit when entered into unprovoked and has almost no winner after all of the deaths have been paid. But what about when it IS provoked?
When our hand is forced into entering war, I believe that we have alternative to war. When we are personally attacked and our safety is put into jeopardy, I believe that the only result can be war. War is ugly; in fact, war is an abomination. But the choice is rarely ours to make; rather, it is the choice of doing what is right.

But what if one were to believe that staying out of war is to do what is right? There are, of course, people who believe this, and, if I entered into conversation with them, I would hesitate with my response. Why? There is no easy answer, because war is so paradoxical. It can help achieve what we believe to be "right", but there are so many consequences that make us stop and consider the moral repercussions of it all.