For Whom the Bell Tolls

One of the worst blows to the fragile system of international law happened recently, writes Yale professor and international security expert Paul Kennedy, and it made no headlines. On June 2, Taliban soldiers in Afghanistan murdered five members of the Nobel Prize winning organization, Doctors Without Borders. The atrocity prompted the withdrawal of remaining volunteers, ending 24 years of aid to stricken Afghan communities. This withdrawal brings to light two key questions about international peace and security in the 21st century, Kennedy writes. The first is whether international relief groups can enter troubled lands without incurring the wrath of malcontents by virtue of being from the West. The second is whether non-government organizations like the UN and associated agencies can maintain a distinction between their “hard” work, such as peace enforcement, and “soft” work, such as caring for victims of conflict and disaster. The line between the two will be increasingly blurred, Kennedy argues, as terrorist groups and other foes increasingly go after soft targets. Unable to attack the massive US army or the international forces it supports conventionally, he concludes, “they will attack the nation's weak points, not its strengths,” targeting the vulnerable and those who come simply to help. – YaleGlobal