EPIIC News Briefs

U.S. Intervention: From Vietnam to Iraq

Pulitzer Prize-winning authors David Halberstram and Leslie Gelb (LA'59) debated the role that the US should play in Iraq. Their discussion covered topics in international law, questioned whether the US is an empire, and addressed the fact that many American citizens and leaders are not informed about foreign policy issues.

Halberstram showed apprehension about a war in Iraq. "We are punching our hand into a hornets nest," he said, because of the intensity of the Middle East's emotions against the US. He was adamant that the lessons learned by the US from its intervention in Vietnam should be heeded. Gelb, who is also the President of the Council on Foreign Relations, supported US involvement, saying that the US should use its power to better the world by disarming Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

--by Jonathan Graham



US Foreign Policy: A New Age of Empire?

Five politicians and scholars discussed the role of the US as an empire in the modern world, and whether the US hegemonic position in world affairs was beneficial or detrimental to other nations. The panel featured authors Philip Bobbitt, Gwyn Prins and Andrew Bacevich, former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, and former South African Minister of Constitutional Affairs Roelf Meyer, who served under both the De Klerk and Mandela administrations.

The opinions between the panelists varied greatly, with each having a different perspective on whether the US is an empire, and what its purpose in the world should be.

Campbell felt strongly that the US should act in a more imperialist fashion and should become more involved in world events, something that she said the country's history shows it has failed to do in the past. "The war memorials in my country say 1914 to 1918, and 1939 to 1945," Campbell said, referring to the US's later entry to both World Wars.

--by Jonathan Graham



Sovereignty and Globalization: New Challenges

Though the panel was supposed to address the challenges of globalization to state sovereignty, the speakers instead debated the humanitarian aid justification for war with Iraq.

Former president of the International Committee of the Red Cross Cornelio Sommaruga was presented with the Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award. In his acceptance, Sommaruga spoke of the need to develop an international humanitarian community, directed by the ideals and personnel of the United Nations. Sommaruga stressed humanitarian aid as the cornerstone for military intervention, and he criticized the US for not making this a priority.

Co-panelist Ramu Damodaran, the editor in chief of UN Chronicle, agreed that the UN must be the tool for humanitarian action. Boston University political science professor Robert Jackson used his time to give a detailed account of US intervention since 1945.

University of Texas Law School professor and author Philip Bobbitt disagreed strongly with the preceding speakers, arguing that the humanitarian crisis in Iraq does indeed justify intervention. Similarly, Gwyn Prins, a research professor at the London School of Economics and Columbia University, supported US intervention on the basis of humanitarian aid, and he criticized Europe for its incoherence in a time of crisis.

--by Brian Loeb



Market Evolution and Political Revolution: Mad Money in Latin America

Economist Ricado Hausman, lawyer Luis Moreno Ocampo, and historian Peter Winn debated reasons for economic failure in Latin America at a panel which focused on economies within the international scene.

Tufts History Professor Peter Winn gave a brief introduction to the economic history of Latin America, specifically relating the role of international organizations in its national economies, and how this can be seen as a ceding of sovereignty. He said that governments have become so dependent on what international organizations and their economists dictate that they no longer represent the people who actually elected them.

Hausman, former chair of the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Development Committee, argued that there is a basic conflict between the proliferation of nation states since the end of World War II and the attempts to bring down economic borders. Hausman, who is from Venezuela, said that he felt the United States should be proud of many of its past interventions in other nations and that he approved of international organizations monitoring national governments.

Moreno Ocampo, who was a criminal prosecutor in the human rights case against Argentina's former military junta, focused on networks of corruption -- argued that the legal framework in Latin American countries was failing and at fault for the economic disasters of recent years. He showed that corruption is built into the system, and subverts it on every level.

--by Jordana Timerman



Transnational Crime: Subverting Sovereignty

National borders make it very difficult to bring transnational criminals to justice, a fact that was made clear in this panel which included the Secretary General of Interpol, the former US Deputy Attorney General.

Secretary General of Interpol Ronald K. Noble explained that Interpol is basically a voluntary international police force. The 181 member countries share information in hopes of helping each other catch criminals who have crossed national borders. "Fighting international crime requires thinking across boundaries and acting across borders," Noble said.

Philip Heymann, former US Deputy Attorney General, pointed out the difficulties of prosecuting people, a job that only becomes more difficult when done on an international level. The entire process is very dependent on cooperation, he said.

Argentine lawyer, Luis Moreno Ocampo, suggested an innovative approach to subverting transnational crime, saying that banks should be recruited into the effort. He used an example of a bank employee that noted a suspicious deposit and helped catch an international criminal.

by Carri Hulet