About the Program

This week on After Words, journalist David Rieff explains why he now believes that armed intervention should only be used as a last resort. His argument is explained in "At the Point of a Gun: Democratic Dreams and Armed Intervention." Mr. Rieff remains a supporter of intervening militarily during both the Rwandan and Bosnian Genocide, but further atrocities in the aftermath of both conflicts led him to reconsider the argument for outside military force as the only solution to solving humanitarian crisis's caused by the governments of sovereign states. He also writes about the complicated positions human rights advocates take on intervention, and concludes that world leaders should resist using interventionism as a standard doctrine in international policy. He is interviewed by Gen. Wesley Clark (Ret.), former Democratic Presidential Candidate, NATO Allied Supreme Commander, who led the military operation in Kosovo, and the editor of Palgrave Macmillan's "Great Generals Series."