By Budd Friend-Jones
In Syria, Americans seemed to be facing an untenable choice: to keep or to abandon our role to protect a vulnerable minority and maintain a tenuous peace and, in a larger sense, to be or not to be the world's policeman. It didn't have to be this way.
In Syria, Americans seemed to be facing an untenable choice: to keep or to abandon our role to protect a vulnerable minority and maintain a tenuous peace and, in a larger sense, to be or not to be the world's policeman. It didn't have to be this way.
Not so long ago,balancing Turkish security concerns and Kurdish desires for a homeland might have involved a multi-national United Nations peace-keeping force to separate the warring parties. It would not have been a perfect arrangement, but it would have significantly reduced inter group violence, prevented massive human displacement, and reduced the tensions in the area. ISIS/ISIL prisoners might now be under international guard, or even headed to international courts. Highly skilled negotiators from multiple nations would be working to nudge the situation toward resolution.
The failure to utilize the United Nations cannot be laid at the feet of the USA alone. It reflects a widespread ethos of turning away from the costs and challenges of "globalism". Precisely when we most need robust international institutions, they are being weakened by emergent nationalisms, ethnic chauvinism and an ideological commitment to dismantle many of the traditional functions of governments, including collective trade and security arrangements.
On October 24 we will celebrate the 74th Anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. The UN has grown from its original fifty-one member states to193. These include the vast majority of the nations of the world. Its charter calls for it to maintain international peace and security, protect human rights, deliver humanitarian aid, promote sustainable development, and uphold international law. The carnage on the Turkish-Syrian border clearly demonstrates its current ineffectiveness.
As we deal with planetary issues such as climate change, and the challenges of intractable conflicts such as Syria, we need to revision and revitalize international agencies such as the United Nations for new and larger roles. We should require all candidates for Federal office to tell us how they will do just this,
©Gilbert R. Friend-Jones
buddfj@gmail.com
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