Kellogg–Briand Pact

To promote peace is our long-established policy.

Through the Kellogg-Briand Pact, a great moral standard has been raised in the world.

By it, fifty-four nations have covenanted to renounce war and to settle all disputes by pacific means.

Through it, a new world outlook has been inaugurated, which has profoundly affected the foreign policies of nations.

Any door, the right support.

We have continued our policy of withdrawing our Marines from Haiti and Nicaragua.

The difficulties between China and Japan have given us great concern, not alone for the maintenance of the spirit of the Kellogg-Briand Pact, but for the maintenance of the treaties to which we are a party, assuring the territorial integrity of China.

It is our purpose to assist in finding solutions sustaining the full spirit of those treaties.

To promote peace is our long-established policy.

Through the Kellogg-Briand Pact, a great moral standard has been raised in the world.

By it, fifty-four nations have covenanted to renounce war and to settle all disputes by pacific means.

Through it, a new world outlook has been inaugurated, which has profoundly affected the foreign policies of nations.

Upon our further initiative an agreement was made by Germany's private creditors providing for an extension of such credits until the German people can develop more permanent and definite forms of relief.

We have continued our policy of withdrawing our Marines from Haiti and Nicaragua.

The difficulties between China and Japan have given us great concern, not alone for the maintenance of the spirit of the Kellogg-Briand Pact but for the maintenance of the treaties to which we are a party assuring the territorial integrity of China.

It is our purpose to assist in finding solutions sustaining the full spirit of those treaties.

He'd overseen a prolonged economic boom that lifted Americans out of poverty.

He'd pushed the international Kellogg-Briand Pact, committing nations to avoiding war.

He'd forged a new, less aggressive policy towards Latin America.

He'd kept the US out of the League of Nations.

And if they do not, it, it, the agreement is, is a, is an illusory promise because it has no mechanism of enforcement.

Now, as, um, as, uh, this, this seems like a, a highly academic, kind of highly abstract argument, but in the aftermath of the First World War, this became very much an issue, okay? Because the claim was, um, what underlay the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which, uh, in the aftermath of the unwillingness of the United States to acquiesce the League of Nations, the Kellogg-Briand Pact was, um, it, it outlawed war, quote, as a instrument of national policy, okay? Um, but again, uh, this was a very Eurocentric conception, and, and it, and it partook actually, despite its pretensions of representing a new order, it partook in existential terms of the old world order.

Because if you utilize war as a policy, policy instrument, you're talking by definition about a war of choice.

You know, you're talking about a cabinet war in order to, uh, uh, in order to coerce a rival power, um, into acquiescing to some demand or another, or you're talking about, um, you know, you're talking about, uh, a, a war within the colored dominions to manage, you know, a, a, a colony remote from the primary seat of sovereignty.

The end of the Cold War to 9-11 period, the so-called human rights era, that sorrow store was wide open to me because I was one of the world's experts in war crimes.

And that's when, you know, it was as utopian, in my opinion, as the interwar period after World War I and the Kellogg-Briand period.

Treaty and everybody's saying it in the 90s Oh the International Criminal Court is going to be the answer to all of our problems as Yugoslavia is burning as Rwanda sees the worst genocide since World War two as Cambodia's inflamed in civil wars So there was no way I could go along with that and that that was difficult professionally I You know, my books did well, but as I've said to you many times, books are like kids.

They make their own friends.

It is interesting.

All right, on this day in 1928, the Kellogg-Briand Pact.

Uh, if you ever do 20th-century history, actually study it at A level or undergrad or anything, you will come across the Kellogg-Briand Pact.

60 nations agreed to condemn the, quote, "recourse to war for the solution of international controversies," quote.

How'd that work out for you? Good intentions, though, to be fair.

It didn't have enough teeth.

It didn't have enough, any real power to stop countries from doing stuff.

Kellogg-Briand Pact is basically in the same vein.

Look at Iran.

Trump took Obama's deal, which looks like the, what was it, the Kellogg-Briand Treaty? I mean, the Obama deal with Iran is...

Historic, and so Trump blew it up, and then he blew up the Iranian leadership, which is now more powerful today than it's ever been.

But Trump destroys things.