NYTimes -- How War Left the Law Behind

Is the international legal system that sought to outlaw war and the use of military force dead? Was the Yugoslavia NATO intervention a mistake? No, and NO. International law basically relies on the major powers respecting it and although Bush almost broke it in the end he agreed with Powell and went to the UN. Yugoslavia was a special case where NATO went in to prevent genocide and atrocities. Part of why the UN wasn't involved in the war more was that they were early involved in the conflict and imposed an arms embargo. The problem was that prevented Bosnia from defending itself. In the end, the UN Security Council authorized NATO to implement the military aspects of the agreement.