Wednesday, July 02, 2003
How to win friends and influence people
The Bush administration has banned military aid to some 50-odd countries because those countries recognize The International Criminal Court and have not exempted US citizens from prosecution under its jusrisdiction. What? We haven't alienated enough of our friends and allies?
Well, I guess they're consistent, at least. It used to be said that the United States was a nation of laws. Back in January the usually odious Bill O'Reilly wrote (albeit in another context completely) "We are a nation of laws, except when politicians don't want to enforce them. " And, at least in this context, he's right - the ruling radical right have no interest in the rule of law. If they did, we'd expect our troops to live up to the same standards of behavior that the rest of the civilized world expects. Not to mention that Al Gore would be in the White House and UNMOVIC and the IAEA, and not our troops, would be in Iraq.
The Bush administration has banned military aid to some 50-odd countries because those countries recognize The International Criminal Court and have not exempted US citizens from prosecution under its jusrisdiction. What? We haven't alienated enough of our friends and allies?
Well, I guess they're consistent, at least. It used to be said that the United States was a nation of laws. Back in January the usually odious Bill O'Reilly wrote (albeit in another context completely) "We are a nation of laws, except when politicians don't want to enforce them. " And, at least in this context, he's right - the ruling radical right have no interest in the rule of law. If they did, we'd expect our troops to live up to the same standards of behavior that the rest of the civilized world expects. Not to mention that Al Gore would be in the White House and UNMOVIC and the IAEA, and not our troops, would be in Iraq.
