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MarciaMarcia

7 August 2008 - 9:46am

Quote:

The league is necessary, argues McCain, because in matters vital to the U.S., such as fighting Islamic terrorism, humanitarian intervention, and spreading liberty, democracy and free markets, America and its democratic partners must be able to act without permission from the United Nations (that is, from Russia and China). In other words, the league's main purpose would be to marginalize Russia and China in world affairs.

The most damning criticism of McCain's plan is that it would launch a new cold war between states labeled democracies and autocracies. This is not only dangerous, but incoherent. Russia and China do not "threaten" the "free world" with a powerful ideology and massive armed forces, as they did during the Cold War.

Moreover, on issues like terrorism, nuclear proliferation and climate change, America needs Russia and China. Stigmatizing these states as pariahs will not get them on board. (China must learn to behave "responsibly," McCain declares with breathtaking condescension.) In fact, Russia has mostly cooperated with the U.S. in the "war on terrorism."

The world already has a peace-maintaining institution. The UN was created under rules designed to enable states of different political colors to live together. Members accept the obligation not to use force except in self-defense or when authorized by the Security Council. The U.S. is frustrated by not being able to get its way at the UN. But the UN exists to protect all states from lawless behavior, including by the U.S. By implicitly bypassing the UN and dividing the world into two armed camps, the league of democracies would increase the risk of war.

Quote:

The world also already has a prosperity-spreading mechanism. It is called trade. In 1994, the World Trade Organization was created to liberalize trade under agreed-upon rules. It is full of faults which need to be corrected. But we don't need a League of Democracies to do this. By subjecting trade relations to embargoes, sanctions and tests of democracy, environmental standards and human rights, the league is likely to retard the growth of trade, and thus the chance for poor non-democracies to catch up.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/996688.html