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Humanitarian Wars?: Lies and Brainwashing
In the eyes of Rony Brauman of Médecins sans Frontières, wars are always triggered in the name of morality. Today's " humanitarian" interventions are little more than new moral crusades-and their justifications are based on lies. There are plenty of examples of hawkish propaganda in recent
Saddam Hussein's mythical weapons of mass destruction; a dubious genocide in Kosovo; doctored figures of famine in Somalia; and a fake massacre of protesters in Libya.
Without being militantly non-interventionist, Brauman is extremely suspicious of the thirst for war displayed by many of today's world leaders, the consequences of which are devastating. He is critical of international peacekeeping bodies and the UN Security Council and the International
Criminal Court represent, for him, the interests of the powerful before all else.
Basing his argument on the criteria for a " just war," Brauman criticizes the Western obsession with imposing democratic values by force. In this sober and convincing book, he thoroughly dismantles the notion of the justness of " humanitarian wars."
Saddam Hussein's mythical weapons of mass destruction; a dubious genocide in Kosovo; doctored figures of famine in Somalia; and a fake massacre of protesters in Libya.
Without being militantly non-interventionist, Brauman is extremely suspicious of the thirst for war displayed by many of today's world leaders, the consequences of which are devastating. He is critical of international peacekeeping bodies and the UN Security Council and the International
Criminal Court represent, for him, the interests of the powerful before all else.
Basing his argument on the criteria for a " just war," Brauman criticizes the Western obsession with imposing democratic values by force. In this sober and convincing book, he thoroughly dismantles the notion of the justness of " humanitarian wars."
- GenresNonfiction
256 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2019
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June 13, 2019
Having heard Rony Brauman talk about the book in MSF (although in French which I do not speak very well), I was ready to be skeptical about it. I wanted to dislike it because of his position on Libya and came to read it with some hostility.
It wasn't what I feared. The book, a conversation with Régis Meyran, is interesting in its focus on the lies and propaganda of humanitarian interventions from Libya to Somalia to Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The book puts down a good criteria for what is a just war, one is I have read before (proportionality, last resort, chance of success) and tries to measure whether the wars mentioned are legal and/or just.
I agree mostly with the chapters on Somalia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan but find it difficult to deal with the one on Libya. Brauman vehemently rejects the arguments used for the Western intervention to depose Gaddafi and puts clearly where the law was exploited by the West and how they stretched their mandate using false pretences and lies. I do not disagree with that part. But two things I feel Rony misses badly: one, is he doesn't even touch on the alternative of the vile dictator winning the war and establishing his power even further and even longer. An ethical position that doesn't consider the alternatives and compare the cost of them on the people is a sophist position that can only be uttered by someone who didn't live a day of his life under a dictatorship. The privilege of Brauman shows way too clearly here. The second problem is that he doesn't even try to consider the wants and needs of the Libyan people: Would they have preferred the West to stay out of their affairs or to help them depose the dictator that has destroyed the lives of two generations of Libyans.
Anyhow, like with Chomsky's "conversations" books, this is more shallow than it should be given the size and audience. It lacks the depth required to tackling such issues but can serve as a side of the argument that needs to be had.
It wasn't what I feared. The book, a conversation with Régis Meyran, is interesting in its focus on the lies and propaganda of humanitarian interventions from Libya to Somalia to Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The book puts down a good criteria for what is a just war, one is I have read before (proportionality, last resort, chance of success) and tries to measure whether the wars mentioned are legal and/or just.
I agree mostly with the chapters on Somalia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan but find it difficult to deal with the one on Libya. Brauman vehemently rejects the arguments used for the Western intervention to depose Gaddafi and puts clearly where the law was exploited by the West and how they stretched their mandate using false pretences and lies. I do not disagree with that part. But two things I feel Rony misses badly: one, is he doesn't even touch on the alternative of the vile dictator winning the war and establishing his power even further and even longer. An ethical position that doesn't consider the alternatives and compare the cost of them on the people is a sophist position that can only be uttered by someone who didn't live a day of his life under a dictatorship. The privilege of Brauman shows way too clearly here. The second problem is that he doesn't even try to consider the wants and needs of the Libyan people: Would they have preferred the West to stay out of their affairs or to help them depose the dictator that has destroyed the lives of two generations of Libyans.
Anyhow, like with Chomsky's "conversations" books, this is more shallow than it should be given the size and audience. It lacks the depth required to tackling such issues but can serve as a side of the argument that needs to be had.
Displaying 1 of 1 review