Patrick O'Brian Discussion Forum

The Last of the True French Short Bastards
ewadams@designersnotebook.com

"War of aggression" is as opposed to "defensive war" and "war for humanitarian purposes," and others. Gulf War I was a war of aggression begun by Saddam to seize Kuwait. Gulf War II, on the other hand, was a war of aggression gussied up as a sanction for Iraq's alleged violations of international law; it turned out afterward that the violation which was used as the justification for the war, Iraq's construction of weapons of mass destruction, had never taken place. The war in Afghanistan is a defensive war waged by the NATO alliance following an attack on one of its members emanating from Afghanistan.

"International law" refers to obligations nations have to make their behavior conform to certain agreed-upon standards, which they have accepted by signing treaties. The terms of those treaties constitute international law, and may no more be ignored when it is inconvenient than I may ignore US law when it is inconvenient for me. Laws confer rights and obligations; treaties confer rights and obligations. They are constructed by somewhat different means, but they amount to the same thing.

Iran, for example, has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty. This means, among other things, that it may not enrich uranium beyond a certain point; and sanctions will be imposed upon it if it does, up to and including, war. You wanted someone to quote a statute, so you here you are:

ARTICLE II

Each non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty undertakes not to receive the transfer from any transferor whatsoever of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or of control over such weapons or explosive devices directly, or indirectly; not to manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices; and not to seek or receive any assistance in the manufacture of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

If you don't believe in "international law," then you are entitled to none of the benefits such agreements provide, such as the Geneva Convention. One of the finest international laws of recent times is the European Convention on Human Rights, which requires the members of the EU to conform to certain standards, just as the US Constitution requires the states of the US to conform to certain standards. (Remember that when the United States was established, it did so by international law -- agreements between the sovereign states, which ceded some of their sovereignty to a new federation.)

Without international law the world reverts to imperialism, which is nice for you as a citizen of a strong nation, but not so nice for those citizens of weak ones.

National sovereignty is an eroding concept in an increasingly interdependent world. Within 2-5 centuries it will be as outmoded as absolute monarchy is now.