Most recently there were those who felt we should have invaded Iran to prevent them from developing nuclear weapons. There were those who felt we should have taken up arms in support of the Syrian rebels seeking to overthrow the regime of Bashar Al-Assad. Still others were against any U.S. involvement in the Middle East, preferring to let regions of the world settle their own disputes with no help from us at all.
Frederick (Rick) Lorenz grew up in New York City and obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from Marquette University. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 27 years as a judge advocate, including a tour as an infantry company commander. He was the senior legal advisor for the United Nations and authorized military intervention in Somalia in 1992 returning there as senior legal advisor for the U.N. evacuation in 1995. In 1996 he served in Bosnia as a legal advisor for the NATO implementation force, and went on to teach Political Science at the National Defense University. After his retirement as a colonel in 1998 he served as a United Nations legal affairs officer in Kosovo, working in the U.N. Civil Administration. He was a regular lecturer at the Canadian Peacekeeping Centre and has served with Canadian military and civilian peacekeepers on three continents. As a Senior Lecturer at the Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, his current courses include International Humanitarian Law and International Law and the Use of Force that include CanadaÂ’s role in the International Criminal Court and the Ottawa Landmine Convention. He resides with his wife Joan in Tacoma, Washington.