FionaK |
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| http://pando.com/2014/06/16/the-war-nerd-h...-qaeda-i-s-i-s/We are once again involved in war in Iraq: yesterday the UK parliament approved air strikes in Iraq with an overwhelming majority. It is not at all clear what good this will do, and although it is claimed that this is confined to Iraq it was obvious that there is built in "mission creep" because in the course of the "debate" it was said that ISIS must be defeated in Syria as well. Since there is no evidence I know of that air strikes are effective by themselves it seems likely that eventually there will be ground troops too According to the UK government this action is legal because the democratic Iraqi government has asked for it: but it is interesting to note that Mr Cameron claimed that it would also be legal to take the same measures in Syria: which certainly has not made such a request. It was reported that there is no need for a UN mandate - we have heard that before- and the argument appears to be that there is no need for one because it would not be granted. A number of countries might veto it, and it now seems that if you cannot get your own way through the mechanisms provided by international law it is legitimate to ignore that law. Nothing new there, of course, but as a justification it lacks logic and legitimacy, surely? It is rather chilling to find that this is presented as a moral decision: apparently Mr Cameron believes that our moral action cannot be determined in Moscow or Beijing. Have a serious think about what that means. The linked article is an interesting account of who ISIS are and it makes a number of points about the reality of such groups as opposed to the familiar narrative of demon leaders and their influence. It is perhaps not surprising that there is tendency to see charismatic leaders as the cause of war, at least to the extent that Westerners believe in individualism and leadership as the driving force of history: for those who take the view that structural and social forces produce the man that is not so clear at all, and this author makes a good case for the latter tale, I think
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