
"In 1945, 51 states signed the United Nations Charter, declaring their intention "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war." In order to make good on this aspiration, the drafters of the charter upended centuries of political and legal practice: Aggression would no longer be tolerated; henceforth, the only just causes for war would be self-defense and the maintenance of international peace and security, which could be understood as the defense of others."
"The United States was a key signatory to the UN Charter. But in the years after the signing of the convention, the US, either directly or via proxies, proceeded to kill untold millions across the globe in an effort to shore up and expand its hegemony within the new world-system. What had changed was its explicit justification for doing so."
In 1945, 51 states signed the United Nations Charter and committed to saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war. The charter redefined legal norms by prohibiting aggression and limiting just causes for war to self-defense and maintaining international peace and security, including defense of others. In 1949, the United States renamed the Department of War to the Department of Defense, reflecting a purported shift toward protecting the new international order. Despite these legal restraints, the United States engaged in large-scale direct and proxy interventions to expand its hegemony, shifting rhetorical justification toward self-defense or defense of others while causing massive casualties. Legal forms retained limited regulatory influence despite frequent violations.
Read at The Nation
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