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Mr. SQUID (is that really your name or are you a Naval Academy graduate?) Laws are only as good as those who are enforcing them. And therein lies the problem. The ICC has broad discretionary authority to determine whether or not something is a crime, whether or not a country conducted a "good faith" investigation, whether or not the trial was proper, and whether or not an imposed sentence was appropriate. And further, appellate authority is contained within the ICC and there is no review past that--not the UN or the Security Council or anybody else--certainly not the USA. So we have an unaccountable court free to review every stage of the legal process in signatory countries to identify if their process meets ICC standards--standards which are established by the ICC! To assume that there will not be ICC prosecutors & judges who will take action based on ideology or anti-Americanism or very expansive ideas of their powers is, I believe, naive.

Mr. SQUID, if you believe the real problem is that the USA is willfully not investigating or prosecuting international criminals under its control or else is protecting its own citizens who have committed war crimes, then it would follow that you would want the ICC to have jurisdiction over the USA. Is that the case, or do you simply advocate the idea of devolving power as far away as possible from the people and into the hands of unaccountable elites?

Mark,
I respect your diplomatic tone. I am glad when people can discuss serious issues without threatening or resorting to name-calling.

1) I agree with your point about the lack of balance and accountability. I think installing a court system without a counterweight such as a legislative body, which, by the way, should reflect a reasonable representation of all nations, would be too much power to whiled for one organization. Given the nature of mans corruptibility that is certain to be abused unless checked. Still, ICC is not a bad idea but with representation.
2) .."that the USA is willfully not investigating or prosecuting international criminals under its control.." Well, sort of since Lieutenant William Calley is out enjoying his life in Florida as a real-estate businessman after being pardoned by Nixon. Come on, you really think EVERYTHING is done by the book here? Sure we get our people off unless it's just too public to cover up.

3) ICC, this is my prediction, will not have authority over us courts on a domestic level but will be able to call people on an international level. I also think the ICC is better then the kangaroo court that has been setup, the YCC, to simply justify the means.

Is preemptive war still justified when the no reason has been found to act? No. What happens to the police officer that breaks into your house and kills your brother and sister because he had a suspicion that something was going on? Does he go free? Well, internationally, there must be a body to hold people accountable for such an "error" and to see if indeed it was done with malice.

Thanks, very interesting! Listen, I am exploring this idea with people who are willing to explore it with me. Discussing this with a closed minded individual is a waste of time be it...politics, liturature or even soccer for that matter.

Respectfully,
SQUID