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The New York Times Reports that the International Criminal Court at the Hague has issued arrest warrants for Libyan Leader Qaddafi and his son for alleged crimes against humanity, citing the killings and persecutions of unknown numbers of Libyans during the uprisings there. The story is here.
In a world subject to the rule of law and the principle that government leaders who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity should be held accountable, we would applaud the existence of an international court to prosecute alleged criminals and serve as a warning and deterrent to would be criminals. And if that system applied its rules uniformly and fairly across nations, it would be a hopeful sign civilization can make progress towards a just society.
We are a long way from that ideal, and a primary reason is the fact that the US Government, including its recent Presidents and the most senior officials of the Defense Department and intelligence agencies routinely violated international laws against aggression, kidnapping, rendition, torture, and other prisoner mistreatment.
They invaded sovereign nations based on false premises and continue to attack or occupy them, reserving the unilateral right to conduct military hostilities, kill, arrest and imprison their citizens, or render them to Guantanamo or still secret “black sites” where they can be interrogated, tortured and held indefinitely, in violation of all civilized standards.
And against all efforts to hold responsible officials accountable for these crimes, the government insists courts have no right to question, inquire or prosecute, and victims have no legal redress. There is no law.
Since the Obama Administration chose to ignore its legal obligations under treaties America has signed to investigate and prosecute such crimes and instead chose to continue some of these crimes on its own watch, it has forfeited the right to applaud the Hague for initiating the prosecution of any other country’s alleged criminals.
You’d think that all lawyers and decent members of this Administration would be profoundly ashamed and embarrassed by this, but don’t hold your breath waiting for any spokesperson to say so. Appalling.
51 Comments
But…but…they’re only doing to Scary Brown People and the folks who support them. Surely, as a nation, we should have no problem with that.
Boxturtle (The sad part is that while the above should be tasteless snark, it’s too true)
So does this mean that the Hague is just another corporate-captured legal institution as well?
Let me suggest that the ICC who goes after those countries that have signed on to participate in the ICC, which the U.S. hasn’t.
And the American fools think they are free.
Thanks for this post Scarecrow. Recommended!
Agreed; the So-called World Court is a joke. What is clear is that only the weak are subject to the rules; therefore the only real rule is to stay among the strong.
By definition, American politicians cannot be war criminals. The US is the exceptional nation.
Libya doesn’t recognize the ICC either.
Like Nixon said, If the President Does it it’s not illegal.
Also, I am Not a Crook.
THis Obama is the sickest joke of all. Total Poseur. Fascist. Corporate lackey.
His Supremes are a joke.
Placesetter for JEB!. JEB! has been awfully quiet. ROVE’S Long knives are out for Palin and Bachmann.
Who could hav eimagined that the Bush name wasn/t toast after Dubya?
It took Obama to do it.
“Mairead Corrigan Maguire Interview” (video, Oct. 3, 2007)
Mairead Corrigan Maguire won the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize for her work for peace in Northern Ireland. This is what she has to say concerning Libya:
“On US Government’s Violence and Revenge: An Open Letter to President Obama” (by Mairead Maguire, June 22, 2011)
What does the Trojan Mouse have to say about harboring war criminals in the U.S.. Oh, that’s right. They belong to the same plutocracy/oligarchy.
I’ve been waiting for this shoe to drop…
Turkey tells West it might launch offensive against Syria
Turkish officials have told Western countries that Turkey might launch a military operation in Syria’s north to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Monday.
“Turkey informed Britain, France, Italy, Germany and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leadership of the possibility that it would launch an offensive in … Aleppo, Homs, Hama and Latakia,” As-Seyassah daily quoted an unnamed British officials as saying, according to the Lebanese news website nowlebanon.com…
Will Assad be next in the Docket…?
Here’s an Al Jazeera clip on reactions to the Hague’s decision…
It’s another weapon in the political arsenal.
Carla Del Pointe, a former UN Chief Prosecutor for the former Yugoslavia wrote a book called “The Hunt”. She said that the demonization of Serbia and the white washing of the Albanian KLA was political. She collected evidence and it was overlooked, and she was subjected to a media campaign to discredit and tarnish her reputation.
The prosecutor’s revelations boils down to her making it known that “prosecution of military criminals in the present-day world is an exclusively political affair. There was a silent prohibition on accusations of Albanians.”
(researching this topic is difficult because all of the sides, except for the Bosnians have extreme nationalistic feelings and engage in rationalizing, apologetics, and demonization)
Let’s be clear about one thing. At the present time, the leaders of Russia, China, UK, France, and the US will never be referred to the International Criminal Court by the UN Security Council like Muammar Gaddafi was. When the country that is the subject of the referral is prevented from exercising a veto, that will change.
The Hague….has long been the poster of western hypocrisy.
As I understand it, a citizen of a nation which doesn’t recognize the ICC (e.g., Libya) could still have the ICC act against him/her; however, a decision by the UN Security Council would be required to extend the ICC’s jurisdiction that way on a case by case basis.
Also, I understand the US is no longer a signer of the Rome Statute which established the ICC, and regardless, the US had never ratified the treaty either.
If this is bogus perhaps someone can clarify, please. Has anything happened with this recently?
Patrick Cockburn in the independent.
This doesn’t pass the credibility test. Turkey would have to do more than take Allepo, Homs, Hama, and Latakia to overthrow Assad.
To my mind, this article speaks more about the anxieties of the Iranian regime than it does Turkish intentions.
I don’t think that either Turkey or NATO is being as rash as Iran would hope.
I partially agree with Scarecrow’s frustrations with the ICC and lack of uniformly applied standards. Yet there are a lot of other non-signers, aside from the US, who also happen to be UN members. And some really big ones (China, India) are openly hostile to the ICC. It doesn’t seem there’s a critical mass available yet.
The ability to go after Qaddafi, and willingness of the Security Council to tweak the ICC to do so, seems just because Q has pissed off everyone there. The real merits may not be the driver.
The lack of ICC action against any individual of consequence from a major power, and Qaddafi as an anecdotal short term exception — it really shows weakness, no?
nowlebanon is owned by Harriri and would represent the opinion of Saudi Arabia or even the US disinformation. Turkey was the go between Israel and Syria to work out deals. Someone is trying to shove a wedge between. The Syrian muslim brotherhood has also armed themselves and is operating in the north and the US is talking with them.
Iran? There is no Iranian involvement except in the imaginations of Saudi Kings and Israelis.
Fortress America.
I weep for what we’ve become.
http://www.startribune.com/nation/124604233.html
Be patient. Retribution for our crimes against humanity will come, and sooner than most of us think. The US is losing its leverage, and pretty soon the only thing protecting its war criminals will be Chinese blackmail.
Honestly, Shek, I think the Turks are extremely concerned about all those Syrian Kurds, etc. that are fleeing into Turkey, remember that they don’t particularly like the Kurds, be they Turkish, Iraqi, Syrian, nor Iranian in origin…! Also, you do know that the Israeli Foreign Ministry has totally insulted and pissed off the Turks recently in Istanbul, no less…! 8-(
Funny that Todays Zaman, a turkish daily has to get information from a lebanese site that isn’t very reliable.
This was the interesting paragraph.
Al-Akhbar in Lebanon is hated by everyone, including Hezbolla.
Perhaps Tarheel dem is right about Iran, but I’m surprised that this is laundered through the media, especially the part about Iran being concerned about the Lebanese government because Hezbolla is only a minority there, and Iran is also friendly with Syria.
I abhore all violence. But when I visited Kosovo in the early 00s, I noticed something about the photographs of the people killed / found in mass graves.
I recall it was mostly men, probably age 18 – 35. My conclusion? It was a civil war, like Libya.
Should people die? NO. But many of these situations are much more complicated than “those are the bad guys and these are the good guys… and the bad guys are war criminals.”
I’m not an expert on either situation, but those are my relatively detached observations.
And why is the Nobel Peace Prize winner being indicted for the deaths of 9 civilians? Simple… it is highly political.
sry, shb… “And why ISN’T the Nobel Peace Prize winner…”
not for long… as we lose dollar hegemony, the fall of Rome will hasten…
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/23183a78-a0c6-11e0-b14e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1QWH2d100
we deserve some credit for being the biggest hypocrites ever to practice “regime change” (while denying we are doing it, naturally).
The link has this paragraph:
This source is likely as valid as the unnamed British official.
Iran is too worried about their own internal squabbles to be playing the role you’re assuming they play in Syria, Lebanon, and even Gaza(Hamas)… Ahminejad is about to be canned by the real power, Khatami and the Supreme Council, basically for ‘heresy’…!
Exactly my point. Sorta casts doubt about the assertions about Turkey’s intent as well, doesn’t it.
I don’t know what Iran is up to, but if the paragraph is true, Iran is worried that the fall of Assad might embolden the democracy movement in opposition to Ahmedinejad, who is much weakened after his attempt to delegitimize the Supreme Leader.
“The Number One vulnerability is the dollar itself,” — James Rickards, Chief Risk Officer US Government, December 2008.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16663_Page2.html
“The US dollar will lose its status as the global reserve currency over the next 25 years, according to a survey of central bank reserve managers who collectively control more than $8,000bn.” — today’s Financial Times
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/23183a78-a0c6-11e0-b14e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1QWH2d100
Rome is burning… Obomba is trying to distract us with Libya… with the added benefit that with their gold and oil, Libya had the opportunity to create a much-feared commodity-backed currency that would have hastened the decline of the dollar… and the US in turn.
Obomba is young. He may be held to account someday. I just wish he would end these stupid wars and take the next 18 months to prove he deserves that Nobel.
Turkey has a very good reason for concern about the Kurds; they threaten Turkey’s territorial integrity. (Iraq has the same problem.) Assad has sorta bought the Syrian Kurds off for the moment. Erdogan’s re-election has brought a mandate to revise the constitution. It is likely, since Kurdish parties scored major gains in the parliament, that there will be greater attention paid to the rights of Kurds in Turkey. And that Turkey will move toward being more of a multi-cultural state. There was a distinct shift away from the Ataturk-style Turkish nationalism in the last election. Also, it is not only Syrian Kurds who are fleeing to Turkey.
As for Israel, it is about to come under major diplomatic pressure with the arrival of the Freedom Flotilla off Gaza. There are some pretty prominent people acting to deter an attack. People like Alice Walker.
The last Freedom Flotilla created the break between Israel and Turkey, which hasn’t healed.
*heh* Ya owe me a beer…! Honestly, nobody wants the fall of Assad, across the region, including Bibi…! I truly think the Turks are reacting to the influx of refugees, pure and simple…! Interestingly, Col. Pat Lang argued recently that the Turks should take charge and act as Interlocutors in Syria, the only hangup would be the bitter Ottoman aftertaste…!
Khamanei. If it’s Khatami, that would be major news.
But I agree. I was extending the logic in the section of the article attibuted to a Hezbollah official. My conclusions are only as valid as the reports of the newspaper of the Hezbollah official.
My personal opinion is that unwinding the Assad regime is going to be very dicey and it could turn out to be the Belarus of the Arab Awakening. And that the EU, US, and Turkey recognize that risk.
Turkey is in a bind. Failing to act means either more refugees or people trapped in towns receiving punishment for opposition to Assad. And they have been very cautious, to the point of seeming to abandon those trapped just over the border from the refugee camps. It will take a major provocation by Assad’s military to get Turkish troops to cross the border. And if that happens, we are in major chaos in that region.
The Hague hasn’t been long at anything except resolving fishing and boundary disputes. Milosevich was the first case in the ICC. And now Charles Taylor, Radovan Karadzic, and Vladko Mladic. And a separate court in Phnomh Penh trying the remaining leaders of the Khmer Rouge.
Tale out the permanent members of the UN Security Council, what is there in other western countries to try?
…Khamanei. My bad, and it really is surprising how much restraint the Turks have shown thus far, and, it would create a serious shit storm if they did get involved, but, they do need to get involved to at least stabilize the border region…! 8-(
0bama didn’t just ignore compliance with treaties America had signed mandating the investigation & prosecution of those crimes, he also failed to faithfully execute and uphold the laws of the United States as per his oath of office.
No one, not even the President, should be in a position of deciding when to enforce the law and when to- in the words of 0bama “turn the page”.
I agree with Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee who said “You shouldn’t turn the page until you’ve read what’s on it.”
*heh* Ya know that I was never a ‘Cruise Missile Liberal’, eh Shek…? ;-)
The MOTU’s were pissed that Qadaffi was about to upset their neocolonial applecart…! By funding the African Development Bank with African funding…! Sayonara, IMF/World Bank activity on the Dark Continent…!
That’s interesting! What do you do?
Yes it was a civil war, but it was instigated as part of the cold war when the US began an economic war against them after the breakup of the Soviet Union and the death of Tito. Clinton secretly facilitated weapons smuggling to the croatians to declare and fight for autonomy from Bosnia/Herzogovina and then secretly armed and trained Albanians in Kosovo (KLA) to do the same.
It’s against Assad’s interest antagonize Turkey needlessly. I wouldn’t be surprised in the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood was creating a border crisis in service of the US. They did the same in Egypt by attacking Copts after the uprising, in service of the Saudis. Divide and conquer.
To put some more perspective on the potential shit storm, many fear that would trigger an Israeli invasion, which could lead to clashes between a Nato member and Israel, mull that one over..! 8-(
haha… I just take advantage of life and try to understand why the world is so f’ed up! Kosovo was a few days out of a couple weeks thru the Balkans. That’s just part of a bigger adventure that’s intended to cover the globe before I’m done.
I think learning the perspectives of others is necessary to build bridges so I can *try* to leave the world a slightly better place than the way I found it.
Regardless of where I’ve been, only once did I really fear for my safety. I was in Egypt and an Iraqi teenager started verbally attacking me. “Why have you been bombing my country for ten years?!” This was in 2000.
The US MSM drives me nuts because they lack so much… and usually just go along with the TPM de jour of whatever administration happens to be in power. Ugh. Rome is burning and we’re worried about Bachmann calling Gacy an American icon?? For example, I’ve never heard about the gun running you mentioned.
So I try to do my part to help inform others… not that I know some sort of greater truth… rather… just to let people know that there’s more than one side to a story… as both Fox and MSNBC attempt to portray.
I’m a CPA from Connecticut, currently trying to do my little part to make the world a better place by working for a healthcare NGO in Haiti.
Btw, FDL is fantastic for sharing information and shedding light. Thanks for being so welcoming!
Btw… what do you do that you happen to know as much as you do?
Yeah, I know you’re not a “Cruise Missile Liberal” ;) It’s all about economic/energy control. Gaddafi was not controllable. See Greece: The Troika (EU, ECB, IMF) bankers now issue commands to their government, they want massive privatizations. The last government of Costas Karamanlis had signed an agreement with Russia to participate in the South Stream gas pipeline which would’ve outflanked Europe’s planned Nabucco pipeline. A few more scandals and the compliant Papandreou is in charge. War by any means…
I wish I had a job that took me somewhere. :) I got interested in geopolitics and history when I found some sites on the internet during the end of Clintons term that were tracking the CIA planes, later I found out they were rendition planes. Then I saw pictures of the Fallujah massacre that was billed as a battle. After you find out the government has been lying you have to question everything. Unfortunately war is how Americans learn geography and I’ve tried to learn history from the other viewpoints along the way. It’s never what they represent.
I wish I had a job that took me somewhere.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way! I got my first overseas gig in Vietnam. I bought a one-way ticket to Saigon in 1995 and was determined to make a go of it. I stayed three years, then returned stateside.
I stumbled across my current gig on Idealist.org. I highly recommend it… even if only for casual interest.
International Employment Weekly is a good source for overseas jobs. There are plenty of others you can find on google. But if you’re as knowledgable on geopolitics as you seem to be, you may be one of the select few who can actually pass the monstrous test to become a Foreign Service Officer… not that I’m advocating that. I certainly wouldn’t want to work in this (or pretty much any) Administration… save a Kucinich or Paul admin… one which may actually believe in open, non-hostile government.
Well the ICC has now lost what little credibility they had with this ruling.
Beside a finding against the prior US administration, this administration also needs to be charged. Libyan Leader Qaddafi and his son have confessed to nothing, in case of fact they have denied these charges. While in the case of both US administrations, we have video tape of their confessions of War Crimes and Obstruction of Justice.
In keeping with US foreign policy, the US sided with the group, in this case the Albanians, that was heavily involved in heroin trafficking.