Does a nation's "sovereignty" exempt them from criticism,sanctions or even war?

Question

I've heard people argue that we shouldn't have gone into Iraq because they were a "sovereign" nation. Is that a legitimate reason to avoid war with any nation? Wasn't Germany a sovereign nation during WWII? What are your thoughts?

Answer 1

No!  A sovereign nation is not always a nation that serves the best interests of it's people.  For Instance Iraq was a sovereign nation that destroyed people who were not in agreement with the dictatorship type of government.

No free speech, no free press, and freedom of religion among other things.  The penalty for not adhering to these types of rules could and did constitute death.

This type government had the freedom to turn a blind eye to crimes committed on the people in the name of the government.

Another thought; women who were thought to be doing things out of place were stoned.  Families were gassed in masses, and mass graves were found.

Just in the name of humanity, Invading Iraq was the right thing to do!  I believe in spreading a moral democracy for humanities sake.  We were also threatened for 14 years and sanctions were given to Saddam.  We went to war with the blessings of our Allys and the U.N..

Edit: And I might add Congress!

You never have seen two democracies at war with each other, have you?

We are a leader in this world and we should remain the beacon of light other countries look to!

~

Answer 2

We had no business in Iraq!!!!

We are there because Bush was mad at them for talking bad to his father,that is the only reason so many of our kids have died. Because of Bush's petty ways,we should have stayed out of this family feud.

Answer 3

The question as presented has no answer. What exactly are you asking, and why?

Being a sovereign nation means that you define your own government, and are responsible for it's actions, as well as consequences to them.

Being sovereign does not allow or exempt you from international law or world courts.

Answer 4

I'd say the reason we shouldn't have gone into Iraq isn't because they are a "sovereign" nation, but because that country had nothing to do with terrorism until we stirred up the hornets' nest there, and nothing to do with Bin Laden at all.

Answer 5

America is not and should not consider themselves as the worlds police force. We need not condone the things that take place in some other countries but we need to understand that the things there are the problems of that country. Those countries do not believe in a lot of what we do; should we approve of them coming here to try too change us? When things are as bad as they seem to be it needs to be up to the world wide conventions and organizations to force change. America has always been good at using diplomatic force to achieve what we felt was necessary. Bush lacked the leadership in himself and his staff to do this so, along with his desire to finish what has father failed to do, he lied to the American people and took us into a war that should never have been. We have paid a terrible price for a lie and the world watched as America (as the Russians told us long ago) almost destroyed itself from within. Hopefully we will make it trough the 5-6 months and who ever gets into office will make fixing problems created by the Bush bunch a priority and restore Americas economy, quality of life, spirit and the worlds opinion of the greatest nation on the continent!