US Urged to Adopt Policy Justifying Intervention

The doctrine known as “responsibility to protect,” or R2P, compels nations to act when other nations commit atrocities against their own people. But decisions on intervention represent a struggle between conscience and pragmatism. The US applied R2P to justify support for Libyan rebels in 2011, but has hesitated to do the same for Syrian rebels, explains Mark Landler of the New York Times, adding that in the latter case, “the strategic complexities of the conflict have outweighed any moral imperative to intervene militarily on behalf of Syria’s embattled rebels. Madeleine K. Albright, former US secretary of state, and Richard S. Williamson, a former special envoy to Sudan, in a report urge “embrace” of R2P. R2P methods can include military, diplomatic and economic options, and rather than threaten sovereignty, notes the report as described by Landler, “a multilateral coalition to deal with foreign conflicts actually strengthens the hand of the United States.” Nations must decide, too, whether to work within UN Security Council constraints, or act quickly and alone. – YaleGlobal