And what happens when we're no longer the stronger party, or those laws accomodate our enemies' strengths more than our own? Our most recent tinkering with international law (Kosovo) opened, some argued, the way for Russia to intervene in Georgia; which, IMO, has damaged our credibility and our interests. And how does selectively employing these laws also affect our credibility and our interests, since you acknowledge that we will likely not apply Chertoff's suggestion universally or fairly?
EDIT: Hypothetical. The kind of international law regime described by Chertoff goes into effect. PRC/ROC relations hit an all-time low. US defense support of ROC continues. Could the PRC invoke such a law, given the PRC's view of Taiwan's legal status? What could be the consequences for US-PRC relations?
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