A distinguished panel including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Williamson claimed that the international community had failed in Syria during a discussion hosted by the Brookings Institute at the Holocaust Museum Tuesday morning.
The panel, moderated by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, focused largely on Syria and the application of the "Responsibility to Protect" (R2P) Doctrine.
The discussion comes at a time when more than 100,000 people have died in Syria as the international community does little to stop the bloodshed.
The Obama administration’s pledge to arm the rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad was finally approved yesterday by House and Senate intelligence committees after a heated debate over the financial ramifications of arming the Free Syrian Army [FSA].
R2P’s tenets focus on a country’s duty to protect its’ citizens and the international community’s willingness to be ready to protect a nation’s citizens if their government fails them, Albright explained. "The intervention in Libya was the first time R2P was written into a [resolution]" she added.
"R2P is not the answer … but maybe it can become the norm" Albright said.
Ignatius focused on the "Syrian Question."
"[Syria’s] taking place before the world’s eyes right now, we appear to have documented use of chemical weapons against the civilian population," Ignatius said. "Despite heroic efforts by [the U.N.] we have no apparent movement towards a resolution."
"How should the R2P community deal with this?" Ignatius asked.
"I think that part of the issue here … is analyzing who you’re going to help," Albright said.
"I do think that the international community … not just the United States has really failed to find the appropriate tools to deal with [Syria]," she added.
Albright highlighted R2P’s pitfalls because for unilateral enforcement it requires approval by the National Security Council (NSC).
Albright pointed to the success of the Clinton administration’s involvement in Kosovo when the United States bypassed the "cul-de-sac" of the NSC and turned to NATO.
"We took it out of the ‘cul-de-sac’ and put it with NATO. … Personally I believe we shouldn’t get stuck in the [National Security Council]," Albright added.
"We need to recognize that we are tired from the War in Iraq and the War Afghanistan … and the question then is how do we have a national discussion about this," Albright said. "Are we in danger of the ink blot spread of Syria and its implications on our national interests in the region?"
"We need to have a discussion on our national interests," Albright added.
Albright went on to say that the United States cannot act unilaterally, and the international community must be involved in future actions as well.
"If you’re the United States you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t." Ambassador Williamson said.
The discussion on R2P Tuesday morning was held in conjunction with a release of the R2P working group’s most recent report that can be read here.