Why do politicians send troops to foreign soil, to fight battles they
rarely win? Is it old-fashioned imperialism tainted with a crusader
complex? Or is the West a partisan for the helpless? The fall of the
Soviet Union left the West aimless. With no conflicting dogma to
reinforce its sense of justice the West assumed the role of global
policeman - aid graduated from charitable to economic and, finally,
military. Ideological struggle was replaced by a vague and confused
concept of international justice, shrouded in real-politik. Yet
scepticism now pervades the interventionist debate. Simon Jenkins traces
the rise of 'liberal interventionism' from Kosovo and the 'war on
terror' to present day conflicts in Libya, Syria and Ukraine, asking:
what can we learn from the miscalculations, mistakes, and mendacity of
'the age of intervention'? As ISIS sweeps through Middle-East, calls for
a military solution are increasing. By exposing interventionist rhetoric
and highlighting past mistakes, Jenkins gives us an invaluable
contribution to the active and essential debate on the West's role in
global conflicts.