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Netherlands outraged at the US
Ok, last politics story for a while, but this one also is too much to pass up. The US administration originally expressed SUPPORT for the the ICC (International Criminal Court). Yet they also have expressed that it should apply to all of the world EXCEPT US soldiers and citizens. Yeah, that makes sense.
The International community adopted the ICC and it is almost in place without the involvement of the US (it is regrettable that the US took said position, but thankfully most of the rest of the world has proceeded without the US). The ICC is a neeeded entity. There are plenty of checks and balances and it is intended to prosecure gross abuses of power such as genocide, war crimes, etc. No innocent soldier will be inadvertently prosecuted, that idea is ludicrous. The court includes due process, etc (unlike the US these days).
The US Congress in another astoundingly arrogant and ignorant move during this session recently approved the "American Service Members Protection Act" specifically to enable the President to to "anything" required to liberate any American soldier that might be prosecuted by the court. That is incredibly stupid.
The potential that a US soldier would be prosecuted is VERY VERY low and IF it did happen, it would again require a REASON, a CHARGE, a TRIAL, etc. If a US soldier could be convicted of such a crime then that soldier SHOULD be convicted of such a crime. At any rate, Congress doesnt want some International court deciding anything to do with our boys, dammit. (Arrogant as hell, Ignorant as hell, stupid.)
Even though the potential that the ICC would ever be a problem for any US soldier is miniscule, the sky is falling chicken littles in the US Congress adopted legislation to enable the invasion of the Hague? So, what is the potential that that legislation will do more damage to international relations and foreign policy than the court could ever do to a soldier? In fact that has already happened, the Dutch and many other nations supporting the ICC are outraged, and the SHOULD BE.
For more info, see the linked NPR story and listen to the Morning Edition program archive.
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Re: Netherlands outraged at the US
Something about this rubs me the wrong way...
The spirit of the ICC is fine, but its not going to do a damn thing. First off, we have had an international court at the Hague, and the only time they ever get to try people for war crimes is after a massive war (WW2, Kosovo). Do you think that the ICC will serve a warrant to some vicious dictator and he will turn himself in for trial? No, we will have to fight to get him...is it in the ICC's plan to have an army, or do they just plan to use UN peacekeeping forces (for which we give like $300 million/year but do not participate)?
And in the case of "our boys", I don't want them going to the ICC, I want them being tried by court martial in the US. Think about it...if there is some international organization arresting our soldiers overseas without our sanctioning, that sounds suspiciously like "taking prisoners of war"...no wonder we are not wild about the idea. Also, it has always been our avowed policy that the President NEVER gives up command of US troops. That is why we don't participate in UN peacekeeping operations, since it would require US troops being commanded by non-US commanders. Its the same theory here...
International support does not make an idea good, and we are not automatically arrogant to withdraw participation if it doesn't suit our interests. I think we should really ask ourselves what good yet another "international peacekeeping organization" will do for us and the world before automatically subscribing to it since everyone else does.
Thats just what I think...
Re: Netherlands outraged at the US
Andy, I disagree with you about the capabilities and effectiveness of the ICC. I think it will be empowered to do things and that is one of the reasons the US is afraid of it. The ICC is DESIGNED to fix some of the shortcomings of the current international system in the Hague, I think the world needs such as system that WORKS. This may not be perfect, but it is an effort in the right direction and we could HELP and SHAPE the result rather than bitch and moan when we dont get to call every shot.
Re: Netherlands outraged at the US
Yeah, and the U.N. was DESIGNED to fix the League of Nations. How's that worked out for us?
Re: Netherlands outraged at the US
Ok, I might agree with you that that a court with international jurisdiction is a good idea in theory, but I still don't think that it can be implemented very effectively. Even countries that support the court will have a hard time bowing to its authority when it come after their president. For instance, how will this new court avoid the fact that it took thousands of innocent lives, millions of dollars, and several years to oust Slobodan Milosevic and bring him to justice?
Re: Netherlands outraged at the US
All good points, complicated issues. As to Slobodan, I would justify his ouster by the fact that he is no longer in power. The "thousands of innocent lives" that it took to oust him are tragic (we are referring to military personnel, I presume) but when compared to the tens and or hundreds of thousands of lives that were taken while he was in power I think it was still a noble and just cause. Sometimes people die in military action, it sucks, but it happens, sometimes the end does have to justify the means (although it is admittedly stupid that we as humans have to have wars in the first place.)