Humanitarian intervention is how those profiting from war sell it to the American people. Don’t believe it ever again.
By Achin Vanaik, Jacobin
During the late 1990s and the early 2000s, the doctrine of “humanitarian intervention” came to the fore as a justification for US-led military adventures in the Balkans and the Middle East. A number of recent events have revived our memory of those debates, from the ignominious US withdrawal from Afghanistan, just as the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks was approaching, to the deaths of leading Bush administration officials such as Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell.
For many people, the disastrous outcomes in Iraq and Afghanistan will be enough to discredit the idea of humanitarian intervention. But past experience suggests that the justification it offers for military action is too useful to be discarded by the United States and its allies. Such arguments may well be used in support for future wars. We still need to address and refute the case for “humanitarian” warfare on its own terms.
Recent Posts
ICC Targets Smotrich For War Crimes— He Responds by Promising More War Crimes
Take Action Now Smotrich reportedly bragged about helping create more than 100 new settlements and 160 farming outposts, while the U.N. has reported…
Establishment Democrats Still Don’t Get Why They Lost in 2024
Take Action Now No amount of messaging acumen could have plastered over the gaping hole in Harris’ campaign: a total dearth of popular policies.By…
The CIA Goes to Cuba
Take Action Now After decades of covert operations, the CIA director has given the Cubans an overt ultimatum for change on the island.By Peter…
Minnesota Officials Charge ICE Agent Who Shot Venezuelan Immigrant & Falsely Reported What Happened
Take Action Now “That is what democracy looks like. It looks like separation of powers and getting material consequences [for] wrongdoing,” she……