"The Hammer" hits an attack on American sovereignty

Michael M. Bates ^ | Nov. 15, 2001 | Michael M. Bates

[dvan]

Perhaps it was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. Last week Congressional negotiators worked on a bill to fund the State Department and other federal agencies. House Republican whip Tom DeLay (R-TX) managed to have them include a provision prohibiting any U.S. cooperation in the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC is one of those innocent-sounding initiatives that appeal to do-gooders and others who haven’t experienced an original thought since the last time the Cubs were in a World Series. The court is a creation of the United Nations, where the U.S. routinely gets kicked around and pays for honor.

The International Criminal Court is still in development, and its treaty has to be ratified by 60 countries before taking effect. The court’s declared mission is to prosecute people charged with war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. This vagueness of the court’s charge is a major shortcoming. Add to that the clamors of special interests that want their definitions of international crime to be included, and it’s more than a shortcoming.

"Committing outrages upon personal dignity" and causing "serious threats to the environment" have been suggested as crimes to be included in the court’s jurisdiction. The ICC should also have the authority to award reparations, according to some proponents. Amnesty International contends: "The court must have the power to award victims and their families reparations, including restitution (and) compensation." If the ICC ever opens for business, you can bet there’ll be people demanding reparations for American slavery faster than Jesse Jackson can jump in front of a TV camera.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the proposed court is its potential impact on our Armed Forces and, indeed, our entire foreign policy structure. Thirty years ago, some folks called U.S. involvement in Vietnam genocide and a crime against humanity. Even today, some consider our actions in Afghanistan to be a war crime and point to the innocent civilians who’ve died there.

If the ICC were in operation, could our soldiers be hauled before it as criminals? Could our secretaries of defense and state be prosecuted for carrying out U.S. foreign policy? Then there’s the question of which, if any, rights embodied in our Constitution would be nullified by an international court. Some legal scholars contend that before the ICC Americans wouldn’t have a right to face their accusers or to have a jury of their peers.

One can only shudder in imagining how judges from so many nations that despise all our country stands for would treat Americans. Already, justice-loving nations like Iran, Sudan and Albania have signed on. So has Zimbabwe, whose president has suggested to his followers that they kill their political enemies.

As President Clinton said, the proposed court has "significant flaws." For that reason the United States refused to sign the treaty for almost two years. Then, on December 31, 2000, the last possible day, Mr. Clinton ordered a U.S. representative to sign it. And you thought he was spending his final hours just pardoning thieves, terrorists, and druggies.

The good news is that signing the treaty isn’t the same thing as ratifying it. That has to be done by the Senate. And providing money for the court would have to come through the Congress.

The bad news is that proponents of one-world government continue their crusade to bring America down to the level of its most virulent enemies. I think most of our citizens want to live in the free and sovereign Republic envisioned by the Founders. At least I hope so.

Some of his opponents disparage Congressman DeLay because he ran a pest control business before going to Washington. Yet the common sense of an average Joe or Josephine is exactly what we need in Congress. If we had more of them, rather than all the shyste . . . attorneys who get elected, we’d be in far better shape.

Since he’s allegedly so tough in getting what he wants in Congress, Tom Delay’s nickname is "The Hammer." Let’s hope he gets what he wants in this case – no American approval of an International Criminal Court.

[chatham]

The further we stay away from the Leftist Loonies in the U.N. the better off the United States will be.

Contrary to Foreign opinion the U.S.A. is the only Country in the World where the Common man has risen to the highest level of Society.

Nowhere else in the world does the average guy live in the style that he /she does in this wonderful Country.

The U.N. would put the U.S.A. back in the dark ages.

They (UN) is trying to find a way to directly Tax the people of the U.S.,in order to fund their Leftist and Socialist dreams.

Get Rid of the U.N.

[aomagrat]

I thought this was about Hank Aaron.