… and Peace and Justice for All: The failure of International Law and the Laws of War in the Middle East Conflict
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The mawkish attitudes of the United Nations bureaucrats towards the Arab states in general, and the Palestinians to the detriment of Israel, as well as the discounting of blatant global human right violations unheard of in Western culture, demonstrates their ignobleness and depravity. These bureaucrats are a true example of their time and to paraphrase Doug Fetherling, they are rogues, rakehells, scapegraces, and scofflaws. I totally disagree with Professor Edward Said who so erroneously claims that the “morbid, obsessional fear and hatred of the Arabs has been a constant theme in U.S foreign policy.” The moral bankruptcy and the conspiracy of silence by most of the international institutions towards global human rights violations excluding only Israel demonstrates that it is legally responsible not only of indifference but rather of pernicious and noxious sanctimonious animus against a member state. I have only scorn and disdain towards this obdurate organization “the so-called Pantheon of international law,” which is indifferent to the humanitarian catastrophes facing the world and tolerates the carnages and bloodbaths that continue in the name of international law as humanitarian intervention is forbidden. I concur with Professor Carsten Stahn of the Leiden Law School and Program Director of the Grotius Centre, that there are ‘uses of force’ that may be considered “illegal but justifiable” especially when used against terrorists. According to Professor Thomas Wingfield “[t]he proportionality doctrine of international law supports a conclusion that it is wrong to allow the slaughter of 10,000 relatively innocent soldiers and civilians if the underlying aggression can be brought to an end by the elimination of one guilty individual.” Given the nonstop fragile state of the relationships and the tinderbox fragility within the Middle East the bureaucrats act irresponsibly as it seems that it is always a parlous time to be making one sided subjective comments, and isolate Israel as it is not a panacea for peace. The greatest evidence of the incoherence and iniquitousness of the bureaucrat’s vision is found in the pejorative and one-sided resolutions and references emanating from the United Nations and its allied agencies against Israel. Their behavior epitomizes a hollow unscrupulousness void of any geo-political insight and the most minimal amount of moral integrity. While giving open and blatant support to the Palestinians, whose rhetoric serves in part as a caustic jeremiad on the rampant marketability of the “so called” occupation – a diatribe that has seen successful commercialization to the detriment of an independent Israel, they eradicate the ability for reaching a peace treaty. To paraphrase British Prime Minister Disraeli’s description of President Gladstone – the United Nations bureaucrats are “intoxicated by the exuberance of [their] own verbosity.” I believe that the languor of cerebral realism and the inability to take decisive decisions has increased like saprogenic tendrils thus giving the United Nations a less than distinguished air which lacks veneration but rather instills scorn, contempt and derision. The well know saying "Errare (Errasse) humanum est, sed in errare (errore) perseverare diabolicum," is totally relevant here.
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About the Book
This book is totally different to any other book written on the topic of international law since it does not abide by its accepted staid conventional wisdom. In fact, it is highly provocative in that it challenges the putative central precepts and theories that are taught today. Furthermore, the book is not “politically correct” and further challenges the linguistic and cerebral notions used in global politics. Modern academia has been untruthful and highly dishonest to its base, and this book comes to unwrap the truth. This book is a head-on challenge to the very way international law and international politics is taught and understood. Most will not agree with the theories, concepts, models or even conclusions, but it will be very difficult for them to refute them. The main reason is that every conclusion, every theory, every answer is based on either treaty law, natural law or opinio juris, but not through the accepted rose-fused glasses of most academicians. This book will generate debate, and that is its major motivation! Moreover, the sub-texts of the book will be a decisive factor in providing new directions for the development of international law in the years to come.
About the Author
Gary Sagiv is a post-realist author, that views the world through the natural law order. Born in Apartheid South Africa which he left as a child; injustice is still a major motif in his life. Living in Israel and having taken part in Operation Peace for Galilee in 1982, he soon recognized global injustices to just causes. Moreover, through his academic career, he faced many personal attacks to his views on peace, justice and war as they were not mainstream. He is a graduate of both Israeli and American academic institutions and his writing reflects his dualistic attitude to international law and justice.