Less than Bargained for: The Use of Force and the Declining Relevance of the United Nations

I. INTRODUCTION

In the wake of its intervention in Iraq, the United States is coming to terms with an international system that may leave it open to serious national security vulnerabilities. International terrorism, rogue nations, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction pose the threat of a direct, devastating attack on American civilians. Regardless of one's opinion on the intervention in Iraq, it is clear now that American policymakers must reevaluate their approach to the United Nations as they develop a strategy to defeat these threats. International lawyers must face the question whether the United Nations Charter, which seeks to prohibit the use of force between …