From the very beginning, the West had one set of rules for warfare among Western states, and another for war with the rest of the world, Tarak Barkawi argues [Reuters] Lately, the West and the UN have been using force to “protect civilians”. One might say they are using “human shields” as cover for military intervention. The idea of a “civilian” depends on an association between innocence and the
![The shield of innocence](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/2d97829db59bf2bf69567eadc73347e19549fc49/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F04%2F2011411135833226811_20.jpeg%3Fresize%3D1200%252C675)