If the speech was a declaration of war, Mr Bush will have to work out not only what kind of a war it is and who the enemy is but also the grounds on which such a war is justified and the means by which its engagement will be kept in proportion. Notions of collateral damage , for instance, stand contrary to justice. There are, however, other aspects of justice that are relevant. Distributive justice pertains to the distribution of goods in a community and, in the age of globalisation, serious attention needs to be paid not simply to inequality, but to the gross distortion of opportunity to satisfy basic needs and values around the world. Perhaps Mr Bush intends to redress these issues.
Commutative justice is consequent on and deals with due proportion of gain or loss in transactions.
The areas of the world and the peoples now likely to find themselves enemies have been dealing with the West for over a century and have not done well. Finally, there is a sense of what is called universal justice that has to do with happiness and wellbeing in political association. This has not generally been well achieved globally or within states. Its wider achievement would be a great thing, but it will be extremely difficult. It will call for much more than war.