NATO is not a shield it is a sword, covered in blood

The leaders of NATO member states at the alliance’s annual summit

The current and ongoing conflict in Ukraine reminds us that the existence of NATO 75 years on from its creation stands as an insult to the millions who died in WWII so that the UN Charter could be born.

Produced as the foundational document of the United Nations upon its birth in October 1945, enshrined within the Charter’s articles was a solemn pledge that henceforth justice, international law and tolerance would reign in place of brute power, force and intolerance.

Consider for a moment the first section of the Charter’s preamble:

WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED

• to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
• to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
• to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
• to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom

It is impossible to read those words and not lament the gaping disjuncture between…