Just Foreign Policy News
March 11, 2011

*Action: Urge your Rep. to sign the bipartisan "significant July drawdown" letter
So far, 54 Reps. have signed a letter being circulated by Barbara Lee's office, urging President Obama to follow through on his promise of a July drawdown of troops from Afghanistan with a significant withdrawal. Urge your Rep. to sign.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/leeletter

"No-Fly Zone"? Senator Kerry, the UN Charter Is Supreme Law
A no-fly zone in Libya, if it is not authorized by the UN Security Council, would violate the UN Charter. The framers of the UN Charter gave this power to the Security Council for a reason: to ensure that military force would only be authorized with broad consent. The Security Council should use its leverage to press for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict that recognizes the interests of all the stakeholders in Libya.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/no-fly-zone-senator-kerry_b_833060.html

Action: Urge President Obama and Members of Congress to oppose a unilateral U.S. military intervention in Libya
Unilateral U.S. military action without UN Security Council authorization would be a grave violation of the UN Charter. As U.S. military officials have pointed out, the imposition of a "no-fly zone" would not be "bloodless": it would be preceded by extensive bombing of Libya's anti-aircraft facilities. Such bombing would almost certainly cause civilian casualties. As Defense Secretary Gates has said, the last thing the U.S. needs is a war in another Muslim country. Urge the White House and your representatives to oppose a unilateral U.S. military intervention.

Just Foreign Policy News
March 9, 2011

"No-Fly Zone"? Senator Kerry, the UN Charter Is Supreme Law
It's one thing for Senator McCain to engage in what Defense Secretary Gates called "loose talk" about U.S. military intervention in Libya. It's far more damaging for Senator Kerry to do it. Of course, Kerry voted yes on the Iraq war in 2002, and in August 2004 said he stood by his vote. Kerry was wrong then and is wrong now; a no-fly zone in Libya, if it is not authorized by the UN Security Council, would violate the UN Charter. The framers of the UN Charter gave this power to the Security Council for a reason: to ensure that military force would only be authorized with broad consent. The Security Council should use its leverage to press for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict that recognizes the interests of all the stakeholders in Libya.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/no-fly-zone-senator-kerry_b_833060.html

Action: Urge President Obama and Members of Congress to oppose a unilateral U.S. military intervention in Libya
Unilateral U.S. military action without UN Security Council authorization would be a grave violation of the UN Charter. As U.S. military officials have pointed out, the imposition of a "no-fly zone" would not be "bloodless": it would be preceded by extensive bombing of Libya's anti-aircraft facilities. Such bombing would almost certainly cause civilian casualties. As Defense Secretary Gates has said, the last thing the U.S. needs is a war in another Muslim country. Urge the White House and your representatives to oppose a unilateral U.S. military intervention.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/nobombsforlibya

Surely no-one has been surprised to see Senator McCain engaged in what Defense Secretary Gates has rightly called "loose talk" about the use of U.S. military force in Libya.

But to see Senator John Kerry, the Democratic head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee - the man who as a Vietnam veteran joined other anti-war veterans in asking who would be the last American to be asked to die in Vietnam - engage in such "loose talk" - that is a more painful cut.

Of course, this is the same Senator Kerry who voted to authorize the U.S. invasion of Iraq in October 2002, even though such action was never authorized by the UN Security Council, and was therefore a major war crime in international law - the crime of aggression. And this is the same Senator Kerry who, as a presidential candidate in August 2004, stood by his vote for the war.

Here is a basic fact about the world that mainstream U.S. media - and politicians like John Kerry - generally find distasteful to acknowledge. The Charter of the United Nations rules out the use of military force by one UN member state against another except in two cases: self-defense against armed attack, and actions approved by the UN Security Council.

Obviously, Libya has not attacked the United States, and there is no realistic prospect that it will do so.

Therefore, because it is an act of war, in order to be legal under international law, the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya must be approved by the UN Security Council. There is no way around it.

The United Nations Charter is not an obscure document that can be safely ignored when it is convenient to do so. It is the founding document of the United Nations. It is the Constitution of the world.

Just Foreign Policy News
March 4, 2011

Action: Urge President Obama and Members of Congress to oppose a unilateral U.S. military intervention in Libya
Unilateral U.S. military action without UN Security Council authorization would be a grave violation of the UN Charter. As U.S. military officials have pointed out, the imposition of a "no-fly zone" would not be "bloodless": it would be preceded by extensive bombing of Libya's anti-aircraft facilities. Such bombing would almost certainly cause civilian casualties. As Defense Secretary Gates has said, the last thing the U.S. needs is a war in another Muslim country. Urge the White House and your representatives to oppose a unilateral U.S. military intervention.
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/nobombsforlibya

In Libya, Diplomacy Could Save Lives and the World Economy
Hillary Clinton defended the State Department budget in Congress this week by pointing out that diplomatic interventions can prevent expensive wars. Now she can demonstrate her argument by example in Libya. A Venezuelan proposal for a diplomatic resolution calmed oil markets when it was reported that the Libyan government had accepted the proposal and the Arab League was considering it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/in-libya-diplomacy-could-_b_830886.html

*Action: Lee bill for military withdrawal from Afghanistan