1/ I don't see myself as a pacifist. But I do believe international law - for all its faults - is the best means we have of preventing states blundering into wars or using them for domestic political reasons. It's a safety mechanism. It shouldn't be tossed away when convenient.
2/ Strikes on Syria seem to be a poorly justified (legally and practically) exercise in "something must be done", "this is something", "let's do the something". I am also suspicious of President Trump's justifications. Nothing like a war to shift attention from domestic crises
3/ Don't see how UK's "humanitarian intervention" argument - even if it wasn't legally dubious - applies to chem weapons but not 7 years of total humanitarian disaster. From a lawyer's perspective, it smells like an ex-post-facto sop rather than a thought through legal position
4/ I want to end the suffering in Syria. Who doesn't? I would support an international effort, centred on the UN, to do that. I get Russia would veto and has hardly kept to international law itself. But if the West disregards international law too, it's bad for everyone long term
5/ One respectable-ish argument for the strikes is that they represent a necessary international-ish response to use of chemical weapons (see sites.duke.edu/lawfire/2018/0… …). But for West to unilaterally overrule international norms it needs credibility and trust. Trump has neither
6/ People responding that Russia is a veto-wielding member of the Security Council, is an actor in the war, therefore the UN can't be used. That is a decent argument. But it still necessitates a careful balancing of the pros and cons of disregarding the UN. Here's the problem:
7/ Entering wars - especially in Middle East - has huge knock-on effects. See Iraq, Libya etc. I'm not convinced this small-scale intervention will alleviate suffering enough, 7 years into this horrible war, to justify those effects. And I'm not convinced by Trump's motivations
8/ Have I mentioned I don't trust President Trump? I think I mentioned that. Would prefer not to be on his coattails at all for anything ever.
PS. I don't trust President Trump.
PPS. He's going to be impeached soon
PPPS. He makes George Bush Jnr look really moral
PS. I don't trust President Trump.
PPS. He's going to be impeached soon
PPPS. He makes George Bush Jnr look really moral
