Arguments Against Humanitarian Intervention

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ISIL is threatening the stability of the Middle East. It has become a terrorist organization capable of committing heinous crimes as it has been evidenced by the coordinated attacks all over the world. President Obama has decided to conduct air strikes, but the effort has not been as effective as intended. Therefore, it is imperative for the U.S. to take a leadership role and form a coalition that can send ground forces to Iraq and Syria. This is not an easy task, but it could be possible if President Obama is able to appeal to the responsibility to protect principle. Many people argue against it, but as the UN puts it, “Sovereignty no longer exclusively protects States from foreign interference; it is a charge of responsibility that holds …show more content…

He states that we do not have the right to intervene, but the responsibility to protect” (Evans, 2008). Humanitarian intervention can be effective at times, but not always. Seybolt notes that one of the most dangerous aspects of humanitarian intervention is when international governments manipulate the numbers of deaths and refugees to suit their agenda. It is important to report the real amount of people saved because overestimating can be used as an excuse to show effectiveness through radical actions. Additionally, empirical evidence shows in past conflicts, lack of resources and slow response prevented saving more lives. To prevent the same failures from reoccurring, it is necessary to consider three factors “the needs of the population and aid organizations on the ground, the objectives of the intervention, and the strategy employed by the intervener” (Seybolt, 2007). All of these lessons learned helped to shape the current R2P policy. For example, humanitarian intervention terminology was removed because it was linked only to military intervention. As it was shown during Operation Restore Hope, intervention goes well beyond that. Unfortunately, the civil wars of Iraq and Syria are keeping ISIL strong and a negotiated agreement seems to be the only way to end them. The inefficacy to deal with the atrocities committed in Syria and Iraq clearly undermine the principles of the R2P policy because the international community has failed to protect the population from “genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing” (United Nations,

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