When we bandy about “war crimes,” “assassination,” and other terms, we ought to consider what we are talking about and, if appropriate, what the available mechanisms for justice are.

Human rights advocates, when looking at Nigeria’s north and central regions, fear an accelerating disintegration of Nigeria’s society and institutions. We all should be concerned that, if current trends are not arrested, Nigeria may implode, with global economic ramifications. A new wave of Nigerian displacement and emigration would rival those associated with Libya, Syria, and Iraq.

We comfort ourselves, saying, “This is not who we are.” But without deeper reflection, such pat answers are lies, strengthening the “vulgarized knowledge” that allow us to ignore the chasms that threaten to consume us.

In “The Education of an Idealist,” Samantha Power comes across as a compassionate person with generous impulses. These attributes cannot by themselves determine policy on the question of humanitarian interventions.

It is interesting to reflect when a topic bursts into public view and comes to dominate public discussion: Why nationalism now?

The international community should renew the responsibility to protect and empower regional organizations to uphold it. Such would be a fitting remembrance of the Rwanda genocide.

The United Nations has failed to do what it was created to do—“promote the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security.”

If we use last resort to prevent war in almost all circumstances because we see the use of force as evil, we do not preserve peace but instead allow injustices to go unchecked.

Determining when and where to serve “the interest of humanity” is not a science. In a broken world, American policymakers must seek the counsel of the heart and the head, aim for the achievable, and choose the least-bad option.