The legality of war
This post on Harry's Place by 'Marcus' is at once rather funny, and profoundly depressing. It's funny because, unless he is merely saying that no international law cn blow the 6th Fleet out of the water, his assertion that there is no international law governing invasions of countries is profoundly misguided, as you can see by his shifting position in the comments much like Michael Howard before a WMD inquiry. It's depressing however in its seeming rejection of the desirability of any laws governing international relations beween country.Now clearly international law is not well codified, understood, observed and applied like national laws. But it does exist, and indeed the attempt to legalise international relations and literally outlaw war was one of the good things to come out of WWII. It is also true that international law -- like any law -- can lead to sub-optimal outcomes, but I still don't think it's in the left's interest to suddenly say it was all a waste of time and might is right, regardless of how superior we think our democracies our, and the moral authority it gives us. That it should normally be illegal for countries to invade other countries remains something worth hanging on to, and is something both President G.H.W.Bush and Mrs Thatcher were quite happy to say, too.
British Spin raises the issue of humanitarian reasons for intervention, which don't get much leeway in much international law. And it is true that there has been a evolving belief that humanitarian catastrophes can require intervention outside of the UN charter- but this was not made by either government with respect to Iraq, and indeed Blair and members of the Administration intonated that they would be ok with Saddam staying in power if he gave up his WMDs.
This is not to say that I believe the war is illegal. I trust Tony Blair to have checked this out, and indeed his Attorney General declared it was (something that presumably makes a mockery of claims that wars cannot be illegal or legal), and it seems senior figures in the Army, who had been concerned, were reassured by this.
posted by Matthew @ 3/01/2004 07:56:00 PM
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