Christopher A. Preble
Security, Asia
I was honored to participate in the Soho Forum’s successful debate earlier this week in New York City concerning the question of whether, "The United States should be prepared to use force in defense of friendly nations even when not subject to the direct threat of force."
Arguing in the affirmative was the esteemed constitutional scholar Richard Epstein. I argued that the nation’s interest, not friendship, should guide the conduct of U.S. foreign policy, especially when it comes to the use of force. Adopting the affirmative case, I explained, would lead to more war, not less. It also defies the wishes of America’s founding generation, and of Americans living today.
On the surface, the affirmative position seems like common sense. It also comports with basic human beliefs about how we interact with our fellow humans. After all, we do favors for friends all the time. We might, for example, loan a friend some money if they run into trouble. We might help friends around their house, or help them to move out of it. We might even drive them to the airport. As individuals, we should be free to make such choices with our money and time.
In a largely bygone era, princes and kings did favors for friends. In 1367, for example, Edward of Woodstock, aka the Black Prince, went to war in Castile for his friend Pedro, also known as Pedro the Cruel. Pedro had been engaged in a long-running feud with his brother Henry of Trastamara for control of the region. Henry was befriended by Bertrand du Guesclin, nicknamed “The Black Dog of Brocéliande.”
These black dogs and black knights and cruel princes waged war on behalf of one another, and the result was pretty nasty for the troops unfortunate enough to be under their commands. They met near Navarrette in April 1367. Up to seven thousand were killed in the ensuing battle, with perhaps an equal number wounded. The Black Dog was captured but survived, ransomed by his friend Charles V, who considered him an invaluable military commander. He later became Constable of France, and received a hero’s burial when he died of illness at the age of sixty.
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