Confronting the 21st Century Foe

Lynda Hurst Toronto Star
April 7, 2006

The following is an excerpt. To view the full article please visit the link below

Britain's Defence Minister John Reid probably knew he would be pounced on, accused of parroting Washington's aggressive stance in the post 9/11 world or, worse, pandering to it. But this week in London, he stood up and said the unsayable: It may be time to re-examine the Geneva Conventions and international laws governing the conduct of war, its perpetrators and its victims. "If we do not," said Reid, "we risk continuing to fight a 21st century conflict with 20th century rules." The West is beset with an outdated legal framework, while "the enemy adheres to none whatsoever," he said. Indeed, …

* * *

The opinions expressed in this article/multimedia are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of CIGI or its Board of Directors.