Kicking The Intervention Habit By UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL Richard Falk http://countercurrents.org/falk110311.htm

The core legal obligation of the UN Charter requires member states to refrain from any use of force unless it can be justified as self-defence after a cross-border armed attack or mandated by a decision of the UN Security Council.Neither of these conditions authorising a legal use of force is remotely present, and yet the discussion proceeds in the media and Washington circles as if the only questions worth discussing pertain to feasibility, costs, risks, and a possible backlash in the Arab world.The imperial mentality is not inclined to discuss the question of legality, much less show behavioural respect for the constraints embedded in international law.