School Bully Turnaround

Is the current US carpet bombing in Afghanistan “self-defence” as allowed by the UN to member states? According to this article, no. What I find interesting is that the international law standard that limits the legitimate aggression of states stems from a 1837 when the US, weaker than it is now, complained that some British soldiers had unjustly destroyed one of its ships (the Caroline as revenge for American raids into Canada during the little-known Patriots’ War of 1837.

In those days, as the weaker party, the United States was eager to establish and abide by international law. I suppose it’s natural how the tables have now turned and the 70-lb weakling has turned into the school bully.