Monday 14 March 2011

UN if you want to...


What if -
As the world agonises over whether to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, we ask what Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war might have sounded like if the UN had been around in 1939 and all humanitarian intervention had to be referred to the security council...

"... Hitler's action shows convincingly that there is no chance of expecting that this man will ever give up his practice of using force to gain his will. He can only be stopped by force.

"We and France are today, in fulfilment of our obligations, considering going to the aid of Poland, who is so bravely resisting this wicked and unprovoked attack upon her people. We have a clear conscience - we have done all that any country could do to establish peace.

"That being said, we must first secure the backing of the UN security council before we can come to the aid of Poland. We hope in the meantime that Herr Hitler will not do anything precipitous and that this aid can be in place before the Polish people capitulate.

"I urge those brave people who resist the actions of this vicious tyrant to hold on for as long as is humanely possible. It can only be a matter of weeks, months at the most, before we put a framework in place to offer some kind of assistance, whatever that assistance may be..."