The Biden administration’s inconsistency on what gets called a “genocide” or “war crime” reflects a longer U.S. history of politicizing international law.
The Biden Administration and the Politics of Naming
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R2p
The Rohingya, R2P, And Civilian Protection
The failure of R2P is not in the doctrine, but in the states that refuse to implement it.
Muslim Nations Are Rallying to Protect the Rohingya. What About the Rest of Us?
If only Muslims reach out to help the Rohingya, the international community will suffer another blow to its reputation.
U.S. Diplomacy: A Dangerous Proposal
Is the United States on the verge of enshrining humanitarian intervention as a bedrock principle of foreign policy?
With Strong Security Council U.S. No Longer Interventionist of First Resort
A stronger UN National Security Council would head off questions about U.S. intervention in foreign affairs at the pass.
The “Responsibility to Protect” Is Buried in Iraq
After the war in Iraq, is it feasible to invoke the Responsibility to Protect doctrine to protect civilians from ISIS?
Calls for U.S. Military Intervention in Syria Re-surfacing
Once again, R2P — responsibility to protect — is being used as a pretext for attacking Syria.
U.S. Needs to be R2P’d
Writing for the Guardian, and re-posted at AlterNet, Henry Porter makes the case that the scale of gun violence in America renders it, in effect, a civil war. Figures, especially if they’re staggering, can render us none. But the way Porter has framed the number of...
The Crisis of Humanitarian Intervention (Revisited)
Supporters of the impending U.S. strike on Syria claim that it is necessary to punish the Assad regime for using chemical weapons on its citizens and to prevent it from further employing them. The situation, says Washington, calls for “humanitarian intervention.” ...
President Obama’s Bush Moment?
President Obama has really put himself in a bind with this red line on Syria. As his call to action escalates following President Bashar al-Assad’s probable use of chemical weapons against thousands of his own people last week, it seems likely that the U.S. will make...