From: The Watcher’s Council

The Council has spoken, the votes have been cast and the results are in for this week, carved eternally in the records of cyberspace.

One thing many people have been asking is why Libya? Why now? And who benefits? This week’s winner, New Zeal, took a look at the motivation for this war in terms of a new, internationalist doctrine promulgated by the UN and the Obama Administration and the Soros connection in his fine piece, “Responsibility to Protect” – The End of National Sovereignty As We Know It? Here’s a slice:

Glenn Beck has explained President Obama’s decision to attack Libya in terms of the United Nations’ “Responsibility to Protect Doctrine.”

Mr Beck is right.

According to Radio Free Europe:

Those who justify the Libyan intervention on humanitarian grounds draw much of their logic from a concept which has dramatically gained ground over recent decades. The concept is known as “R2P,” shorthand for the world’s “Responsibility to Protect” civilians.

But what does this catchy little phrase mean? Where did it come from? What are its implications?

The United Nations reported in July 2009:

The Obama administration is supporting moves to implement an U.N. doctrine calling for collective military action to halt genocide. In a week-long debate on implementing the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine, the U.S. joined a majority of U.N. countries, including Russia and China, in supporting implementation of the policy. The doctrine itself was approved in 2005 by more than 150 states including the U.S.

The doctrine specifies that diplomatic options such as internal conflict resolution, sanctions, and prosecution by the International Criminal Court, should be used first. If they don’t work, then a multi-national force approved by the Security Council would be deployed.

In other words, if the United Nations does not approve of a certain government’s behavior, and that government’s leaders will not respond to sanctions and the threat of prosecution, they will be attacked militarily.

We had a tie this week between two must read entries in our non-Council category. One was Michael Yon’s harsh critique of a sensationalist piece on Afghanistan entitled Calling BULLSHIT on Rolling Stone and the other was a fascinating piece on the cultural dilemma between the West and the Islamic world called Saving 1 Billion People from Themselves.

As is mandated in these circumstances, I broke the tie. While I thoroughly enjoyed Yon’s snark, Sultan Knish’s piece embraced some deeper questions and got my nod for this week.

Here are this week’s full results:

Council Winners

• *First place with 3 2/3 votes! New Zeal – “Responsibility to Protect” – The End of National Sovereignty As We Know It?
• Second place with 2 2/3 votes – VA Right! – Another Parody Video From Va Right! “Just Like a Real War” Music Performed by Tom White
• Third place *t* with 1 vote – The Colossus Of Rhodey – Declaring war vs. “authorizations”: “Legal” conflicts and the War Powers Act
• Third place *t* with 1 vote – Joshuapundit – A Message For The Tribe
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote – Bookworm Room – Yes, There Is An Obama Doctrine
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote – The Noisy Room – Preemptive Anarchy
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 votes – The Razor – The Road To Hell Pt. 2
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote – The Political Commentator – Is religion headed towards extinction?
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote – Right Truth – Grains Of Sand: The Fall Of Neve Dekalim
• Fourth place *t* with 2/3 vote – Simply Jews – Iran Plans To Introduce Clean Web
• Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote – Rhymes With Right – Is It Time To Impeach Obama?
• Fifth place *t* with 1/3 vote – The Glittering Eye – Reading Up On Hyperinflation

Non-Council Winners

• First place with 3 2/3 votes! – Sultan Knish – Saving 1 Billion People From Themselves submitted by Right Truth
• Second place with 2 2/3 votes – Michael Yon – Calling BULLSHIT on Rolling Stone submitted by Bookworm Room
• Third place with 2 votes – Flopping Aces – The Real reason We’re Bombing Libya submitted by Rhymes With Right
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – Via Meadia – Black And Blue 2: Blacks Flee Blue States In Droves submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – Raymond Ibrahim – Weeping And Other Hysterics; Have Muslim Apologists Nothing More to Offer? submitted by The Watcher
• Fourth place *t* with 1 vote – Melanie Phillips – Humpty in Toytown and the Arab Boomerang submitted by The Watcher
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote – Right, Wing–Nut! – Pakistani Actress rips Muslim Cleric A New One… submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote – IMAO – Know Thy Enemy: The Middle East submitted by The Razor
• Fifth place *t* with 2/3 vote – WorldNet Daily – Libya bombing an attempt to create ‘New World Order’? submitted by The Noisy Room
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – RBO – RBO News & views – the Dumb War Edition submitted by New Zeal
• Sixth place *t* with 1/3 vote – Pajamas Media – Drunkblogging Obama’s Speech submitted by The Political Commentator

See you next week!