- #36
Njorl
Science Advisor
- 288
- 19
Originally posted by suyver
Does that mean that your answer is 'yes' and you think that every nation on the planet has the right to pre-emptively strike at any other one?
There is no sovereign authority above a nation. Nations do not have rights. Nations perform the actions they wish (and of which they are capable) and enjoy the benefits or suffer the consequences. Nations make agreements to make it more clear that egregious behaviour will have unhappy consequences.
When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, it was not a matter of rights. It was a matter of power. When the international coalition kicked him out, it was not justice, it was consequence.
In geopolitics, might makes right. This sounds awful, however, it is important to realize that good relations and good standing in the international community is a form of might. Iraq's military power was an inferior force compared to Kuwait's good relations with the world.
North Korea and Pakistan are free to engage in the actions you described. No sovereign authority can order them to stop, or arrest them. However, they would find that the results of those actions would be terribly detrimental to their welfare.
Njorl