Sovereignty Considerations for the Military Strategist: Lessons from DesertStrike

摘要

A fundamental precept of international law is the notion of territorialsovereignty. International states are permitted to impinge on the territory of another state, that is, intervene, only in carefully circumscribed instances. To ignore this well established principle is to dangerously sanction future interventions and to invite less respect for law and good international order. Desert Strike, a U.S. intervention into Iraq, illustrates the dangers of flaunting international law. Although superficially appealing, this action carries the potential for unwelcome long range foreign policy consequences, of which military strategists must be keenly aware.