No one has advocated indiscriminate slaughter. Of the five thousand dead or
missing there about five hundred Brits, seventy five Australians, one
hundred Japanese , Canadians, Frenchmen, Germans and others.
In urgent circumstances, states sometimes use armed force for political
ends. By mobilizing and deploying military force and conducting military
exercises in order to frighten antagonists and make them do things that they
would otherwise not do. The political use of force can be effective only if
an adversary understands the message and believes the threat is authentic.
Panama ended with the apprehension of Manuel Antonio Noriega, Panama's head
of state. Noriega was then brought to the United States and tried for
criminal drug offensives. Noriega believed George H. Bush to be weak
president. Noriega thought that his value as an anti-communist was more
important to America than his drug dealing.
Kidnapping is a crime under what international law.
Saddam Hussein did not believe the United States would use force against
him. He received mixed and confusing messages from the United States. He
thought that he could take aggressive actions against the Iraqi opposition
and neighbouring states without a major confrontation with the United
States. America considered Saddam a valuable ally serving a cause, the
battle against Iran's effort to spread Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle
East.
The United States has tried hard to resolve the post cold war crises through
peaceful means. Persuasion, warnings, negotiations, sanctions, and threats,
all failed to convince Noriega to resign or Saddam to withdraw from Kuwait.
These same techniques failed to persuade Karadzic and Milosevic to end the
fighting in Bosnia, or Aideed to refrain from attacking US forces in
Somalia.
There are circumstances in which lengthy negotiations and moderate means
send the wrong signals to ruthless authoritarian leaders. Justice must not
only de done it must appear to be done.
The United States has now delivered a tough and clear message early enough
to save both lives and resources. The capture of the criminals and the
punishing of their confederates, states as well as individuals, is justice
not vengeance.
Sinclair
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