Saturday, January 30, 2010

Can The ICC Charge President Obama For Launching "Illegal Wars" In Afghanistan And Elsewhere?

International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague. Photo from Radio Free Europe.

International Criminal Court Proposes Powers To Try Politicians Who Wage 'Illegal Wars' -- The Telegraph

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague is proposing to take new powers to put politicians who launch "illegal wars" on trial.

At a special "review conference" in Kampala, Uganda, the nations which have signed up to the court, including Britain, will consider a proposal to let the court try the "crime of aggression" - the offence allegedly committed by Tony Blair.

If the proposal, backed by more than 70 countries, passes, national leaders alleged to have launched "illegal" wars could be seized, transported to the Hague, tried and imprisoned.

Read more ....

My Comment: It is bad enough that we have US Justices trying to interpret US law on US foreign policy .... imagine having liberal justices in Europe deciding on what US foreign policy should be. President Bush was right to not sign into this legal train wreck, and I expect President Obama to do the same.

2 comments:

Vigilante said...

So what's good enough to do with leaders (even democratic leaders)who are found to have deliberately manipulated the findings of their intelligence services to justify unprovoked aggression, invasion and occupation?

WNU Editor said...

Thank you Vigilante for your comment.

Good question, how do you make leaders elected democratically accountable for their decisions.

On the one hand, you vote them out. On the other hand, you may prosecute them .... but this is a slippery slope that I am sure most people do not want to go down. It is always easy .... with hindsight .... to judge the decisions that our political leaders have made. The real debate is before the decision is made .... which for the Iraq War Resolution there was more than enough.

77 US Senators and 296 members from Congress voted for the Iraq war resolution in October, 2002. Should they be charged under some UN war crimes court for their vote.

I think not.