Token ‘Edgy’ Take on this Iraq Business
*Yawn*
So all the Guardian-reading left-wingers are in an uproar over Tony Blair’s alleged deception over the legality of the Iraq war. Well, fuck those guys.
It’s not against the law at all to go to war. Or, not any real laws. Laws are made for people in countries. Laws are meant to stop you punching babies in the head or driving your car on the wrong side of the road. Laws are imposed by governments who, by election, rank higher than all the people in the country individually.
Countries set laws for people. But who sets laws for countries? The answer, you might think, is the UN. But you’re wrong: nobody sets laws for countries. Who do countries have to answer to if they do something wrong? Nobody but other countries. It would be like having a room of people and getting them to enforce laws amongst themselves. It doesn’t work like that. There has to be some kind of higher authority to defer to and when you reach the top of a country’s government, there is none.
So to anyone saying that the war is illegal… says who? Nobody can slap the wrist of a whole country. Even if they think they can.
The state of international affairs was much better when everything was simple to understand: the country with the biggest army gets to dick on all the shitty countries with the smaller armies. If your country is dicking on countries in the name of good (cf. the British Empire), everyone just lets it go ahead. Britain are obviously the good guys. But if you are the Mittelmächte, you are almost certainly evil and other, nicer countries who have blue on their flags will probably team up to do something to stop you.
The people at ArrestBlair.org, for example, don’t realise that international laws are meaningless words that happen to apply just because most countries are reasonably happy with their neighbours. In reality, anyone can go to war with whoever they want for any reason. So suck it up, you fucking hippies, and just let Iraq go. Nobody cares.
on February 2nd, 2010 at 11:05 pm
What about the higher authority of God?!
on March 9th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
The real question William is: To stab or not to stab. What are your views of legality there?
on March 9th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
“Joe Ali”,
Give it a rest. The trial is over. You are boring us all by continuing to bring it up.
Thanks
Bye.
on March 9th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
As we are a member of the UN we are expected to stick to the UN charter. However, even this is very open to interpretation, and if we wanted to we could pull out of the UN.
As you say States can pretty much do whatever they want - given that the international system is anarchic and there is no higher power.
on March 11th, 2010 at 8:51 am
So even within countries, people only do and only should follow laws because there’s some “higher power” might-makes-right police force who will pwn them otherwise? That’s not how most people view laws… It’s possible to have laws in societies with decentralised government, societies where the government is hereditary rather than elected, and even perhaps societies with no government at all.
I don’t see a reason why there can’t be mutually-agreed-upon international laws which countries agree to and stick to for mutual benefit. If you’re looking for higher powers, look at *all other countries*. International laws are often enforced by trade embargoes and international political station (like Turkey’s bid to join the EU) as well as military force.
This could equally well work in your room full of people. If each have things which they want to protect for themselves and which they want in trade from each of the others; it makes a lot of sense to establish mutually (or at least majority) agreed rules which each must abide by to avoid ostracism or being beaten up by the others. Even if everyone in the room follows the rules purely for selfish reasons, they still follow them.
People are pissed at Blair because if he broke international law (nevermind questions of morality), he’s put the UK on the wrong side of any questions of international disagreements for the next decade or whatever. Plus people don’t like that he’s immensely dishonest to the people who elected him. I fail to see any hypocrisy.
on March 11th, 2010 at 9:08 am
Nah, people in a room would end up like Golding’s boys in Lord of the Flies. For sure. All it takes it one twat to disobey to ruin eveything.
on March 12th, 2010 at 12:58 am
It’s more than fear of jail that keeps me from punching strangers in the stomach. I don’t think I’m unusual (amongst the non-religious).
I think you’re wrong! ^_^
on March 12th, 2010 at 7:50 am
No motivation to assault a stranger.
on March 14th, 2010 at 11:18 pm
I frequently have motivations to assault strangers; when they drive dangerously, hit their kids in public or drunkenly antagonise me. But I don’t, and not (just) because I’d go to jail — it’s just obviously in everyone’s interest that I don’t.
on March 17th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Sadist.
on March 20th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Meh, probably.