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Deliver Us from Evil

Peacekeepers, Warlords and a World of Endless Conflict

Auteurs

William Shawcross

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3,8(111)Évaluer

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448pages
16 heures de lecture

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Reporting from war zones round the globe, journalist Shawcross portrays a dangerous world & the brave persons, ordinary & extraordinary, who risk their lives to make & keep peace. The Cold War's end was followed by a decade of regional & ethnic wars, massacres & forced exiles, & by constant calls for America to lead the international community as chief peacekeeper. The efforts of that community--identified with the UN but often dominated by wealthy nations--have had mixed results. In Africa, the West is accused of indifference or too little, too late. In Cambodia, the UN presides over free elections & the results are overridden. Saddam Hussein defies the UN in Iraq. In Bosnia & Kosovo, the West acts hesitantly after slaughter & ethnic cleansing. Shawcross has had wide access to policymakers, including UN secretary general Kofi Annan, peacekeepers, diplomats & humanitarian-aid professionals. He's traveled with them to the killing fields. Deliver Us from Evil is his on-the-ground report on the crises faced by the international community & its servants as they try to respond. He brings home the price many have paid attempting to restore peace & alleviate suffering. He illuminates the risks faced in a complex & dangerous world. Some critics have concluded that some interventions prolong conflict, causing further casualties. The lesson learned from ruthless warlords is that goodwill without strength can make things worse. Shawcross argues that recent interventions--like Kosovo & E. Timor--provide reason for concern as well as hope. Still, the message of the past decade is that we can't intervene everywhere, that not every wrong can be righted merely because the international community desires it, or just to remove images of suffering from tv. Nor can we necessarily rebuild failed states in our image. When we intervene, we must be certain of objectives, sure of popular support & willing to expend the necessary resources--even lives. If interventions are to be effective & humane, they must last for more than the 15 minutes of attention the media accord each succeeding crisis. That's a tall order. As he concludes, "In a more religious time it was only God whom we asked to deliver us from evil. Now we call upon our own manmade institutions for such deliverance. That is sometimes to ask for miracles."