International Law Expert Says US Attack on Syria Would Violate US Constitution and UN Charter

Share

Radioactivity 4 12 18

Welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Yesterday President Trump suggested that an attack on Syria was imminent, after a reported chemical weapons attack on civilians in that country last week. Russia warned that a US attack on Syrian could lead to a clash between the US and Russia. Russian military forces are helping Syrian President Assad fight against rebel groups in that country. This morning President Trump in a tweet seemed to walk back the threat of attacking Syria. The President’s policy on Syria is confusing. And if he carries out an attack on Syria- it may be illegal under the US Constitution and the UN Charter according to our guest today.

The Associated Press is reporting this morning that:
“Russia has warned the U.S. and its allies against assuming the role of a “global policeman” in response to what it describes as fake claims of chemical weapons use in Syria.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday that Western leaders have no authority to be “investigators, prosecutors and executioners.”
Syrian opposition activists and medics say a suspected gas attack last week killed more than 40 people in Douma, a town outside the capital that was then controlled by Syrian rebels. The Syrian government has denied the allegations.
Zakharova described the allegations as fake, but said the international chemical weapons watchdog should investigate them. She said Russia would ensure the monitors’ security.
Zakharova called for de-escalating the situation, urging the West to carefully weigh the consequences before taking any action.”

Our guest is FRANCIS BOYLE is professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law.
Boyle’s books include Foundations of World Order (Duke University Press).

Boyle writes: “When Obama was in a similar position in 2013, his advisor Ben Rhodeshas since commented that they turned back largely because they were afraid of impeachment. That fear is well founded. While the prospect of impeaching Trump is thrown around frequently for partisan purposes, on this issue, the constitution is clear: Initiating a war or any such attack without authorization is clearly impeachable.
“Last year, at the National Press Club, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., claimed the authority to target the Syrian government stemmed from the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force. Gen. Dunford was totally incorrect. The AUMF passed after 9/11 has indeed been used to justify the bombing campaign purporting to target ISIS, but it cannot possibly be used to justify targeting the Syrian government.
“Excuses of ‘humanitarian intervention’ have no basis in international law and in these circumstances are transparently hollow. Israel apparently just attacked Syria (illegal) from Lebanese airspace (also illegal). Israel itself just openly admitted that it is killing Palestinian civilian protesters — part of a decades-long brazenly illegal policy. The U.S. representative to the UN, Nikki Haley, prevented even an inquiry by the UN into the matter. There’s no evidence of any humanitarian concern here, simply a search for pretexts to pursue geopolitical goals which may well include carving up Syria.”

One Response to “International Law Expert Says US Attack on Syria Would Violate US Constitution and UN Charter”

  1. GMT

    Intriguing guest and show. If I understand correctly, Mr. Boyle believes that Israel — not Assad — is behind the attack on civilians, nerve gas or whatever was used. Pretty incendiary stuff, plenty to think about. I am not convinced, though. The assault was aimed at Syrian rebels and achieved Assad’s goal — the rebels withdrew. Plus why would the medical personnel lie about receiving nerve gas victims? I also remember when Seymour Hersh’s article came out after the April gas attack, and it was very, very long. He was adamant the U.S. lied about it being a gas attack & that Trump was taken in. Hersh is a well respected award winning journalist, but no one in the U.S. picked up on his story or his allegations. Let’s just hope Trump doesn’t make matters worse.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

You may also like

student meal
Next school year Hillsborough public schools are offering free meals

Hillsborough Public Schools are offering students free meals for the...

Correspondence Through Poetry. A Mind-Numbing Week.

Father Verses Sons: A Correspondence in Poems by Herbert Gold...

The sound of change: Music’s influence on anti-war and human rights movements

Throughout history, music has served as a powerful catalyst for...

a man in a tye dye shirt talking on a radio microphone
Recreational pot for Florida is on the ballot this fall—let’s talk about it

In four months, Florida voters have the opportunity to vote...

Ways to listen

WMNF is listener-supported. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station, and we're not part of a university.

Ways to support

WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin'.

Follow us on Instagram

Poetry Is
Player position: