R
Raymond
Guest
War and International Law
America's Foreign Policy: Military Intervention
One of the most difficult issues in foreign policy is deciding when
the United States should exercise military force. Most people think
that military force may be used if a vital national interest of the
United States is threatened. The difficulty lies in getting people to
agree on what constitutes a vital national interest.
Almost everyone would agree that an attack by a foreign country on the
United States threatens a vital interest. Many also would think a
vital interest threatened if a country attacked a nation that we had
signed a security agreement with. Disagreements emerge when the threat
involves the free flow of a precious commodity, such as oil. They also
surface over situations that do not pose an immediate threat to U.S.
security but could imperil it in the future, such as when a region
becomes unstable and the instability may lead to wider conflicts.
Another area of debate opens over human rights and humanitarian
efforts. The United States is the most powerful democratic nation on
Earth. Does that mean we always have a vital interest in promoting
human rights and democracy? Or, should we stay out of the affairs of
other nations unless they threaten other of our national interests?
Another issue arises over how the United States should exercise
military force. Some argue that America should never act unilaterally,
but should only act with others, allies or particularly with the
United Nations. They believe America has a strong interest in
upholding international law. Others agree that it is appropriate to
act in coalitions, but they think demanding it in every circumstance
would paralyze America's role as a world leader.
Debates over intervention have arisen often. Below are a few
situations in which American presidents decided to use military force
in recent years.
The Invasion of Panama in 1989
The Panama Canal is a strategic waterway connecting the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans. In 1977, the United States, which had controlled the
canal zone since the canal was built, agreed to return control to
Panama by 1999.
In the 1980s, Panama was led by the head of the military, Manuel
Noriega. He had permitted elections, but allegations of his wrongdoing--
voter fraud, intimidation, murder, drug dealing--were widely believed.
In 1988, the United States indicted Noriega for drug trafficking and
racketeering. That same year, Panama's president tried to dismiss
Noriega. But the Noriega-backed legislature dismissed the president
instead. The Reagan administration refused to recognize Noriega's
choice for president and imposed economic sanctions on Panama. Noriega
held new presidential elections in May 1989, but when a Noriega
opponent won, Noriega voided the election. He placed a new president
in office in September. In October, military leaders tried to
overthrow the regime, but Noriega put down the coup. In December, the
legislature named Noriega chief executive officer of the government.
It also declared that Panama was in a state of war with the United
States. The following day, a U.S. soldier in civilian clothes was
killed by Panamanian soldiers. Four days later, President George Bush
ordered the invasion of Panama. The U.S. Marines quickly took the
country. Noriega was taken to the United States, tried, and convicted.
The winner of the May 1989 election was inaugurated as the new
president of Panama.
The Persian Gulf War of 1991
In August 1990, Iraq invaded and occupied its small, but oil-rich
neighbor, Kuwait. The U.N. Security Council called for Iraq's
immediate withdrawal and imposed a trade embargo on Iraq. With 300,000
troops in Kuwait, Iraq seemed to pose a threat against Saudi Arabia, a
militarily weak neighboring country with huge oil reserves. The United
States, its NATO allies, Egypt, and a few other Arab countries sent
about 700,000 troops to Saudi Arabia. (More than 500,000 of these
troops were American.) In September, the U.N. Security Council
authorized the use of force against Iraq unless it withdrew from
Kuwait by January 15, 1991. On January 16, the United States and its
NATO allies started bombarding Iraq from the air. For several weeks,
they pounded its air defense networks, oil refineries, communications
systems, bridges and roads, government buildings, and weapons plants.
Then they attacked Iraqi troops in Kuwait and southern Iraq. On
February 24, troops under American command invaded Kuwait. Within
three days, the troops had retaken Kuwait and driven deep into Iraq.
With the coalition's mission accomplished, U.S. President George Bush
declared a cease fire. Kuwait's independence was restored, and the
trade embargo on Iraq remained in force.
The Invasion of Haiti in 1994
Haiti is a poor Caribbean nation on the island of Hispaniola. Half of
the island belongs to Haiti; the other half is another country--the
Dominican Republic. For most of its history, Haiti has been ruled by
brutal military dictators. In 1990, the nation's first free elections
were held. Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a Roman Catholic priest, won
election as president. In 1991, after seven months in office, the
military overthrew Aristide. While the United States, United Nations,
and the Organization of American States negotiated with the military
government to get Aristide returned to power, thousands of refugees
fled the island in small boats. Negotiations made little progress and
boat people kept arriving in America. In 1993, the military government
finally agreed to let Aristide return, but failed to keep its promise.
In 1994, the United Nations authorized the use of force to remove the
dictatorship. President Bill Clinton announced that the U.S. military
would invade if Haiti's military leaders did not leave the country.
With the U.S. fleet approaching Haiti, Clinton sent a delegation led
by former President Jimmy Carter to Haiti's capital. After round-the-
clock negotiations, Haiti's military leader agreed to leave and to
order his military not to resist American troops. Aristide returned to
power. U.S. troops occupied the island for six years. Democracy in
Haiti remains unstable.
The Kosovo Conflict in 1999
Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the Eastern European nation of
Yugoslavia started disintegrating. Four of the six republics making up
Yugoslavia declared independence. Serbia, the largest of the
republics, refused to recognize their independence. A bloody civil war
erupted. Particularly disturbing were incidents of "ethnic cleansing,"
when one side would drive members of the other group from their
territory and sometimes even commit mass murder. In 1995, a peace
agreement was brokered by the United States.
Amid this chaos, a crisis was growing in Kosovo, a region in Southern
Serbia. More than 90 percent of its inhabitants are ethnic Albanians.
(Albania is a neighboring country.) Kosovo had traditionally been
treated almost as a seventh republic in Yugoslavia, but in 1989
Serbian rule was imposed. In 1997, a radical group, the Kosovo
Liberation Army, demanded independence and started carrying out
guerilla attacks on Serbian police. In 1998, the Serbian military
responded with brutal force, driving thousands from their homes. The
Clinton administration worked to get NATO involved. NATO demanded that
Serbia withdraw its troops. Both sides negotiated, but Serbia refused
to sign an agreement that would place NATO troops in Kosovo. NATO
threatened air strikes, and when Serbia didn't back down, air strikes
began in late March 1999. For two months, NATO pounded Serbian
targets. Finally, Serbia relented and signed a peace treaty. Almost
800,000 refugees returned to their homes in Kosovo under NATO
protection. In 2000, the president of Serbia, who had been indicted by
the United Nations as a war criminal, was defeated in an election and
stepped down.
For Discussion
1. How do you think domestic politics might impose restraints or
obligations in the way the United States acts in the world?
2. In each of the situations described, what might be some reasons
against intervening? What reasons were there for intervening?
3. What do you think are vital national interests of the United
States? Why?
4. When do you think it is justified for the United States to use
military force? Explain.
5. Do you think the United States should ever use military force
unilaterally? Explain
America's Foreign Policy: Military Intervention
One of the most difficult issues in foreign policy is deciding when
the United States should exercise military force. Most people think
that military force may be used if a vital national interest of the
United States is threatened. The difficulty lies in getting people to
agree on what constitutes a vital national interest.
Almost everyone would agree that an attack by a foreign country on the
United States threatens a vital interest. Many also would think a
vital interest threatened if a country attacked a nation that we had
signed a security agreement with. Disagreements emerge when the threat
involves the free flow of a precious commodity, such as oil. They also
surface over situations that do not pose an immediate threat to U.S.
security but could imperil it in the future, such as when a region
becomes unstable and the instability may lead to wider conflicts.
Another area of debate opens over human rights and humanitarian
efforts. The United States is the most powerful democratic nation on
Earth. Does that mean we always have a vital interest in promoting
human rights and democracy? Or, should we stay out of the affairs of
other nations unless they threaten other of our national interests?
Another issue arises over how the United States should exercise
military force. Some argue that America should never act unilaterally,
but should only act with others, allies or particularly with the
United Nations. They believe America has a strong interest in
upholding international law. Others agree that it is appropriate to
act in coalitions, but they think demanding it in every circumstance
would paralyze America's role as a world leader.
Debates over intervention have arisen often. Below are a few
situations in which American presidents decided to use military force
in recent years.
The Invasion of Panama in 1989
The Panama Canal is a strategic waterway connecting the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans. In 1977, the United States, which had controlled the
canal zone since the canal was built, agreed to return control to
Panama by 1999.
In the 1980s, Panama was led by the head of the military, Manuel
Noriega. He had permitted elections, but allegations of his wrongdoing--
voter fraud, intimidation, murder, drug dealing--were widely believed.
In 1988, the United States indicted Noriega for drug trafficking and
racketeering. That same year, Panama's president tried to dismiss
Noriega. But the Noriega-backed legislature dismissed the president
instead. The Reagan administration refused to recognize Noriega's
choice for president and imposed economic sanctions on Panama. Noriega
held new presidential elections in May 1989, but when a Noriega
opponent won, Noriega voided the election. He placed a new president
in office in September. In October, military leaders tried to
overthrow the regime, but Noriega put down the coup. In December, the
legislature named Noriega chief executive officer of the government.
It also declared that Panama was in a state of war with the United
States. The following day, a U.S. soldier in civilian clothes was
killed by Panamanian soldiers. Four days later, President George Bush
ordered the invasion of Panama. The U.S. Marines quickly took the
country. Noriega was taken to the United States, tried, and convicted.
The winner of the May 1989 election was inaugurated as the new
president of Panama.
The Persian Gulf War of 1991
In August 1990, Iraq invaded and occupied its small, but oil-rich
neighbor, Kuwait. The U.N. Security Council called for Iraq's
immediate withdrawal and imposed a trade embargo on Iraq. With 300,000
troops in Kuwait, Iraq seemed to pose a threat against Saudi Arabia, a
militarily weak neighboring country with huge oil reserves. The United
States, its NATO allies, Egypt, and a few other Arab countries sent
about 700,000 troops to Saudi Arabia. (More than 500,000 of these
troops were American.) In September, the U.N. Security Council
authorized the use of force against Iraq unless it withdrew from
Kuwait by January 15, 1991. On January 16, the United States and its
NATO allies started bombarding Iraq from the air. For several weeks,
they pounded its air defense networks, oil refineries, communications
systems, bridges and roads, government buildings, and weapons plants.
Then they attacked Iraqi troops in Kuwait and southern Iraq. On
February 24, troops under American command invaded Kuwait. Within
three days, the troops had retaken Kuwait and driven deep into Iraq.
With the coalition's mission accomplished, U.S. President George Bush
declared a cease fire. Kuwait's independence was restored, and the
trade embargo on Iraq remained in force.
The Invasion of Haiti in 1994
Haiti is a poor Caribbean nation on the island of Hispaniola. Half of
the island belongs to Haiti; the other half is another country--the
Dominican Republic. For most of its history, Haiti has been ruled by
brutal military dictators. In 1990, the nation's first free elections
were held. Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a Roman Catholic priest, won
election as president. In 1991, after seven months in office, the
military overthrew Aristide. While the United States, United Nations,
and the Organization of American States negotiated with the military
government to get Aristide returned to power, thousands of refugees
fled the island in small boats. Negotiations made little progress and
boat people kept arriving in America. In 1993, the military government
finally agreed to let Aristide return, but failed to keep its promise.
In 1994, the United Nations authorized the use of force to remove the
dictatorship. President Bill Clinton announced that the U.S. military
would invade if Haiti's military leaders did not leave the country.
With the U.S. fleet approaching Haiti, Clinton sent a delegation led
by former President Jimmy Carter to Haiti's capital. After round-the-
clock negotiations, Haiti's military leader agreed to leave and to
order his military not to resist American troops. Aristide returned to
power. U.S. troops occupied the island for six years. Democracy in
Haiti remains unstable.
The Kosovo Conflict in 1999
Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the Eastern European nation of
Yugoslavia started disintegrating. Four of the six republics making up
Yugoslavia declared independence. Serbia, the largest of the
republics, refused to recognize their independence. A bloody civil war
erupted. Particularly disturbing were incidents of "ethnic cleansing,"
when one side would drive members of the other group from their
territory and sometimes even commit mass murder. In 1995, a peace
agreement was brokered by the United States.
Amid this chaos, a crisis was growing in Kosovo, a region in Southern
Serbia. More than 90 percent of its inhabitants are ethnic Albanians.
(Albania is a neighboring country.) Kosovo had traditionally been
treated almost as a seventh republic in Yugoslavia, but in 1989
Serbian rule was imposed. In 1997, a radical group, the Kosovo
Liberation Army, demanded independence and started carrying out
guerilla attacks on Serbian police. In 1998, the Serbian military
responded with brutal force, driving thousands from their homes. The
Clinton administration worked to get NATO involved. NATO demanded that
Serbia withdraw its troops. Both sides negotiated, but Serbia refused
to sign an agreement that would place NATO troops in Kosovo. NATO
threatened air strikes, and when Serbia didn't back down, air strikes
began in late March 1999. For two months, NATO pounded Serbian
targets. Finally, Serbia relented and signed a peace treaty. Almost
800,000 refugees returned to their homes in Kosovo under NATO
protection. In 2000, the president of Serbia, who had been indicted by
the United Nations as a war criminal, was defeated in an election and
stepped down.
For Discussion
1. How do you think domestic politics might impose restraints or
obligations in the way the United States acts in the world?
2. In each of the situations described, what might be some reasons
against intervening? What reasons were there for intervening?
3. What do you think are vital national interests of the United
States? Why?
4. When do you think it is justified for the United States to use
military force? Explain.
5. Do you think the United States should ever use military force
unilaterally? Explain
