Gret Haller: “The US has lost its credibility”
Gret Haller, a member of the Social Democratic Party, is a former president of the Swiss House of Representatives, a European Union diplomat and human rights official.
swissinfo: Is there a valid reason for going to war?
There are no good grounds. There are also no “bad” grounds. There are absolutely no grounds at all.
Such an irrational view can only hold sway in a country that is not secularised. By secularised, I mean the relationship between religion and the state. Such states exist around the world, and the US is unfortunately one of them. The grounds for this war are religious – there can be no other explanation.
Europe transcended secularism in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia. And now it’s breaking out again.
For me, it came as no surprise that the US and Europe – disregarding the old seafaring powers of Great Britain and Spain – have disagreed.
swissinfo: Has the United Nations lost its credibility?
Absolutely not. No, the US has lost its credibility among the world’s many secularised states.
The current situation could become a big opportunity to strengthen international law. I am convinced that any country which is opposed to everyone else, or almost everyone else, cannot last long.
swissinfo-interview: Christian Raaflaub (translation: Jacob Greber)
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