----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Dawson -PSU" <mdawson at pdx.edu>
> More directly: Have you heard of law, and do you believe in it? If
> somebody is manufacturing illegal weapons, that somebody ought to be
> arrested and tried in a court of law. If found guilty, they should be
> sentenced to the appropriate prison term.
Prior to Seth's post, I was actually thinking through some of the very same points he brought up. It certainly seems that the US should've gotten approval from the UN, but I wonder why they never sought it (remember, even Dubya wanted the UN's OK to invade Iraq). "Wag the dog" explanations sound implausible to me, but perhaps I need to have my hearing checked.
As to the question of whether I believe in the law--depends which law you're talking about. No, I don't believe that international terrorists gangs like Al Qaeda (actually, that's misleading; Al Qaeda was and perhaps still is sui generis in terms of the threat they pose) should be dealt with in the same manner we handle domestic criminals. If that's what international law demands (I don't believe it does), then it needs amendment.
-- Luke