Bush Promotes New Treaties
Trying to impress his international audience, Bellinger declared that “international law binds us in our domestic system” and that the Bush Administration entered into 429 international agreements and treaties last year alone.
Bellinger bragged that, “…I have a staff of 171 lawyers, who work every day to furnish advice on legal matters, domestic and international, and to promote the development of international law as a fundamental element of our foreign policy.”
According to Bellinger, “…our Constitution does not prescribe isolationism. To the contrary, it promotes our active participation in the development and enforcement of international law.”
This will be news to patriotic Americans.
Even in cases where the administration seems opposed to some new international institution, Bellinger made it clear that the opposition is only half- hearted.
For example, while Bush never sought ratification of the ICC, Bellinger said that “…over the past couple of years we have worked hard to demonstrate that we share the main goals and values of the Court.” He explained, “We did not oppose the Security Council's referral of the Darfur situation to the ICC, and have expressed our willingness to consider assisting the ICC Prosecutor's Darfur work should we receive an appropriate request. We supported the use of ICC facilities for the trial of Charles Taylor, which began this week here in The Hague. These steps reflect our desire to find practical ways to work with ICC supporters to advance our shared goals of promoting international criminal justice…”
Bellinger did not explain what would happen when the ICC decided to lodge charges against U.S. soldiers or officials over “war crimes” in Iraq or elsewhere
Treaties, treaties, treaties. Our country is dying under the weight of treaties.