Accountability for War Crimes – USA vs ICC
James O’Neill
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an international tribunal that sits in The Hague in the Netherlands. It began its jurisdictional life on 1 July 2002, the date when the Rome Statute (the ICC’s fundamental and governing document) came into force.
As of March 2019 there are 124 member States. They include all of South America, most of Europe, about half of Africa, and Oceania, including Australia and New Zealand. There are some notable non-members, including China, Israel, Russia and the United States.
The Rome Statute is an important element in the structure of international law given that it has the power to investigate and prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, and breaches of the Geneva Conventions applicable to armed conflicts. It does not have the power to prosecute crimes of aggression.
A further limitation is that the courts will only prosecute an individual if the State of which he or she is a citizen is unable or unwilling to prosecute. Not being a member State does not exonerate that State from an obligation to cooperate with the ICC in some cases. For example, when the United Nations Security Council refers a case to the ICC, all UN member States are obliged to cooperate.
There are further obligations to cooperate under general principles of humanitarian law arising from the Geneva Conventions and Protocols.
A criticism of the ICC has been that it has been willing to investigate and prosecute individuals from poor countries, notably in Africa, while the misdeeds of individuals from more powerful countries have largely escaped investigation and prosecution. In recent years there has been some movement away from this emphasis on African dictators to encompass a broader range of countries.
Although as noted above there are some significant non-members, most maintain a low profile and have within their own jurisdictions significant legislation to punish people acting in violation of international legal principles. Very few countries have displayed the overt hostility to the ICC more than the United States.
In 2002 the US Congress passed the American Service Members Protection Act (ASPA). It has been nicknamed the “Hague Invasion Act” because it authorises the president of United States to use “all means necessary” to bring about the release of any “US or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the ICC.” “All means necessary” implies the use of military force.
That hostility was further exemplified by the United States national security adviser John Bolton, when on 10th of September 2018, in his first major address as national security adviser called the ICC “superfluous” and that the United States would do everything necessary to protect US servicemen, should the ICC attempt to prosecute US servicemen over the commission of war crimes within the I CC’s jurisdiction pertaining to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan ratified its accession to the Rome Statute in 2003, which was after the October 2001 invasion and occupation of that country by the United States and its allies. That invasion was purportedly in response to the events of 11 September 2001, although it is now established that the decision to invade Afghanistan was taken in July of the year.
The ICC made its decision to investigate allegations of war crimes in 2017 and Bolton’s speech was in response to that decision. The ICC has in fact received over 1 million statements from Afghan citizens and organisations in the country, alleging the commission of war crimes. Those allegations were not confined to the actions of American citizens, but encompassed American allies, the Afghan government forces and the Taliban. No other group or country affected by the ICC decision to investigate has made a response similar to that of the Americans.
A separate investigation has been opened by the Australian Federal Police following receipt of allegations of war crimes involving Australian military personnel in June 2018. The details of that investigation have not been released, and there is a suspicion that at least part of the motivation was to demonstrate that Australia was “willing and able” to investigate alleged war crimes by its military personnel and therefore pre-empt any possible adverse finding by the ICC.
In March 2019 a former Australian military lawyer was charged with leaking documents to the ABC, which related to alleged war crimes committed by Australian Special Forces between 2009 in 2013. The AFP investigation is ongoing. The government’s prosecution of the alleged leaker of documents suggests a considerable sensitivity about the allegations.
There is little doubt that crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction have been committed in Afghanistan. There is equally little doubt that all of the combatant forces have been responsible at one time or another for the commission of war crimes. That much is well documented.
What is notable is that the United States has again up the ante against the ICC for having the temerity to continue investigation, notwithstanding the ASPA and Bolton’s threats in September 2018.
In March 2019 United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States had imposed visa restrictions on ICC investigators preventing them from entering the United States. The visa restrictions were not the end of the matter. Pompeo said “we are prepared to take any additional steps, including economic sanctions, if the ICC does not change its course.”
Pompeo’s announcement has been widely criticized. The American Civil Liberties Union called it “an unprecedented attempt to skirt international accountability for well documented war crimes.” Amnesty International said that “impeding the work of I CC investigators disrupts its vital function … it risks setting a dangerous precedent.”
The director of the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) said that Pompeo’s statement reflected the Trump administration’s view “that international law matters only when it is aligned with US national interests.”
The ICC itself issued a statement (ss it had done the previous September reacting to Bolton’s threats) that “the ICC as a court of law, will continue to do its independent work, undeterred, in accordance with its mandate and the overarching principle of the rule of law.”
These quoted reactions are exactly on point. The United States is one of the loudest proclaimers of its self-appointed role as the upholder of the “rules based international order.” As the director of the OSJI noted however, the “rules” and the “order” purportedly upheld is when those rules and order are aligned with the US national interest. The hypocrisy of the US position is glaringly obvious.
The ICC, notwithstanding its imperfections, is accepted by the vast majority of the world’s nations as fulfilling an important role in holding accountable the perpetrators of the most serious violations of the standards of international law and decency.
If powerful nations are free to ignore the ICC’s work and the findings, to actively threaten them in the conduct of their investigations, and obstruct their capacity to do so, then any claim to be upholding legal principles and standards is no more than a hollow sham.
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Did you know that Pompeo has moved to deny visas to the US for all members of the ICC?
Here is a link:
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/15/politics/pompeo-icc-visa-restrictions/index.html
Silly me (vision problems, so I skim through long articles) – that was stated in your article! Please forgive me.
” any claim to be upholding legal principles and standards is no more than a hollow sham.”
To those of us that have been watching / monitoring national activity in the geopolitical world , the above statement
is long held to be the absolute truth .The arrogance and hypocrisy by the US has become almost impossible to believe as to what extent they will go to push their dominance over the world body politic. They are indeed pushing the limits of human behavioral decency and exposing themselves as tyrants .
Russia, China and their allies should not just establish their own banks and payment institutions, they should establish their own Court of International Justice. Then tell western war criminals they don’t have to ratify it to be subject to it, and if they start WW3 and lose they will be hunted down to the ends of the earth. The west has taken too many liberties with South America since WW2 so unlike the Nazis they’ll not be safe there, so perhaps the only places they can flee to are the bug-infested jungles of Africa and Asia. Their bunkers may hide them from their own populations but they won’t keep out foreign armies.
Chucked in here under Empire Watch but also intended as a corrective for those who have referred to Unz Review as “a sewer of racism”. You might not like their White Russian ethos but they make some powerful, real points. Putin bashing is a Civilizational Conflict between “Western” Anglo Zio Capitalist Empire and Putin’s Multipolar World. Incidentally I believe Ron Unz is Jewish; Putin is Christian; but indubitably both are White Russians.
“Besides, the modern West is not Christian at all, not Latin and not Reformed, it is post-Christian and, I would argue, anti-Christian. Thus, even if Russia was a paragon of traditional, Patristic, Christianity – this would in no way affect the dynamics in the West, neither with the various Christian denominations (which, by Patristic standards cannot even be called “Christian” any more) nor with the overwhelming majority of atheist/agnostic materialists who have lost even a vague sense of right/wrong or even true/false.”
https://thesaker.is/the-great-fraud-of-national-zionism/
And here is a bonus from the Unz Review; scientific evidence of Thermite in WTC rubble. Think what you like about the evidence — but don’t say you never received it via Unz Review.
Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Rubble from WTC
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByibNV3SiUooRExGRXJBUWV5dFE/view
Over and out.
Vexarb
I really don’t want to fall out about it: Unz does aggregate a lot of the good stuff. But all the authors I follow either have their own blogs or cross-post elsewhere. The info about thermite is widely available, and was forensically examined on this very site, 18 months or so ago.
In among the good stuff is some really bad stuff – such as the Weissberg article (“The Diversity Miracle”) – which basically said that all blacks where sub-intelligent, and were hampering the development of the much more intelligent American and Asian students. You agreed with me on that being barely concealed racism ATL, which opens the door to open racism BTL (the uncensored blacks as s###skins comment).
If that had been isolated, fair enough. But it is not. I spent most of the last week reading and following some of the comments. It’s a very dark labrynth is all I will say now.
Ragheadthefiendlyterrorist found much the same thing: white holocaust, anti-semitic, anti-muslim, anti-black, anti-everything that threatens the scientific white Americanism that has imperialistically territorialised much of the entire globe (as a cognitive infiltration, an elite Ivy League education (cognitive elitism), as a Harvard neoliberal economism, not just the sovereign invasions and occupations, the drone terrorisation, the SOF death squads, etc, etc).
I personally think Raggie made a very cogent point that all these views are the ones that motivated Breivik and Tarrant (time will tell if he had state backup – probably, I suspect). In my personal opinion, the comments BTL reflect and magnify the choice of articles ATL. What do you expect from a site that openly displays “The Hoax of the Twentieth Century: The Case Against the Presumed Extermination of European Jewry”. Was this the editor – Ron Unz’s – own choice? It is displayed openly above all the other authors sub-sections. If that is not openly disease vectoring into broken and fragmented lives, I do not know what is. It is certainly not an attempt to heal, that is for sure.
It is my own personal choice, but I will not be associating with the racists, bigots and supremacists that congregate there. They are not just isolated ‘crazies’ as someone said. The choice of books and articles reflect that.
Over and out.
What’s wrong with identity politics for white people?
Works just fine for every other ethnic group, Jews, women, gays, trannies.
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
I’m treating your comment as flippant, because no one in their right mind could believe a White Holocaust is a real thing.
The reason I’m against IP is that as it extremises, and we all split into post-real supremacist in-groupings, invent gang signs, dress in ‘Apocalyptic chic’ iconic insignia, and arm ourselves with clubs with nails in …beating ourselves to death in tribal rallies in the streets – the cognitive elite will be watching on surveillance capitalist surround sound screenings. laughing themselves into a hysteric frenzy. Then they get to inherit the earth. That’s what’s wrong with IP.
BigB, you, good sir, not just hit, but smash the nail on the head regards fecken divide & conquer Identity Politics. I see the fragmentation IP has caused, right when we are facing such a grim reality, and much grimer future. Its screwed the Left imo. Oh yeah, and I must be one of the few gay people who loathes Identity Politics.
Ron of Unz Review has / is a very valuable source of information .There is no doubt about it in my mind . He dares to say it like is .No doubt a self hating Jew , whatever that is .
English States ( ES )
English civilization is combination of
( UK US Australia )
AXIS OF EVILS
English civilization which hides itself behind the label of western civilization is not peaceful.
English civilization wants to destroy all other civilizations like 👇🏻
Russian civilization
Chinese civilization
Native American civilization
Islamic civilization
Indian civilization
Spanish civilization
Mainland European civilization
African civilizations
Asian civilization ( Vietnam, Philippines )
Etc
Muslims never invaded English civilizational lands. But English terrorists uses the excuse to attack Muslims that muslims in the past had attacked France and Spain historically, but even English civilization had also attacked and went in war with Spain France Austria Hungary Italy Portugal Germany etccc….
English civilization is the most evil civilization presently.
English civilization has killed millions of muslims and other non-english people around the world.
English civilization has legalised lies, misinformation and deception under the banner of freedom of speech. Muslim countries don’t have freedom of media because they have no intention of invading other countries with lies. English States needs this freedom of lies so that they can blame with lies and invade other countries.
They way new Zealand shooter killed muslims in new Zealand mosque, almost the same way English terrorists in military uniforms with their English government backings were shooting Muslims in Muslim countries and bombing mosques, weeding parties, schools and hospitals. The difference was that after invasion English terrorists first control the flow of news from that area and they would install Middle eastern atheist secular puppet government who would approves all the killings of Muslims done by English terrorists.
The only crime of new Zealand shooter was that he was not in a military uniform and he was not killing in a country where English crusader terrorists in military uniform control the flow of news and can deceive the news that the murdered were terrorists and women’s and children’s were collateral damages.
Christian & atheists from English States invaded Iraq by using freedom of speech of lies.
After occupation they shifted the excuse of enforcing demoncracy, Muslims don’t need demoncracy they need peace either with demoncracy or with theocracy.
When most Muslims under occupation reacted and fought against English terrorism and Muslim got United under different groups and identities like ISIS, English States hijacked those group identities and recruited Arabic speaking militant atheists from Muslim countries for terrorism and to kill Muslims and Christians in the name of Islam and in the name ISIS aired through English controlled Media and on their allied media’s so that English terror States can justify continuity of the occupation and keep on killing innocents muslims through aerial bombings and keep on destroying cities.
Yazidis minority in the middle of the Islamic world were not slaved by Muslims and Islamic states in past 1400 years, why would they do it today?
I think Abu Baker Baghdadi was accused for something which was not approved by him but was blamed by English media as Baghdadi didn’t had freedom of speech and independent media ( like Russians have when they are blamed of skirpal chemical attack ) to deny what ISIS leaders are being accused of and US afflicted groups were committing crimes in the name of IS to legitimise the destruction of mosul and kill it’s habitants men women and children’s more then 200000.
Saudi Arabia is an Islamic state and they are at war with Yemen and they are not enslaving people from Yemen, Taliban ruled Afghanistan for 5 years but they never enslaved anyone there, slavery in Islam is just to protect the lives of prisoner of wars during the heat of battle where no media is watching during war and people can be easily killed by invaders in revenge for their co-soliders killed, but Europeans today don’t like slavery because today they have adopted nazi mentality which is to kill all instead of enslaving them.
Though ISIS is terrorist but they are minor terrorists compare to English state terrorists.
CIA MI5 are not moral Ethical organizations.
Terrorism will always be there till CIA, MI5 keeps on recruiting its agents from Muslim countries to commit false flag attacks in the name of Islam.
Almost all Muslim countries today which are under muslim rulers are atleast much more peaceful in comparison to all those Muslim countries which are living under English terrorist occupations. ( Iraq Libya Afghanistan etccc )
English civilization is more evil then NAZIS.
What Nazis did to Jews, English terror states are doing it today with Muslims.
English terror States don’t care to follow Universal Human Rights or International Law.
English terror states have Veto. They will kill anyone with VETO.
And VETO is above international law and universal human rights.
UN, international organisations and international laws can’t protect other countries when English terror States destroy them illegally.
The mere function is left for UN, humans right organisations and international law is to provide further excuses to English terror states where they wanted to invade. And later UN will accept American installed government as legitimate representer of that invaded country and then that government will keep on giving approval to English terrorists to loot and killing. Millions of Muslims killed by English Nazis, hundred of thousands women’s killed by English Nazis, English people don’t care about Muslims women’s while pretending fighting for Muslim women’s rights, the only right Christian and atheists have towards practicing hijab covering Muslim women is just hate or murder, Christians and atheists like exposed women’s, practicing muslims women’s should not get deceived that Christians or atheists really care about them.
Muslim do jihad in the name of ALLAH against evil forces.
Christian don’t have jihad, they fight for evil ( money, resources, land, oil )
Killing in the name of religion and in the name of nationalism is equally bad.
And those who are killing more presently are the most evil people presently and English terror states are the ones killing more presently.
Being Christian doesn’t make someone peaceful. Christians kill in the name of nationalism, Christians are killing others for the past 2000 years for their ungodly nation states. A Christian will hate you and might kill you by claiming Jesus loves you. Being Christain doesn’t make Christians loving. Under sharia law it allows peaceful Christians can practice their religion just by paying protection taxes , Islam in the past was against those christains who were not following path of Jesus and those who were not peaceful.
Atheists are not peaceful either and being atheists doesn’t make someone peaceful,
Atheists don’t kill in the name of atheism but Atheists do kill in the name of nationalism. Their axiom are different but the behaviour is same as of many theists.
Human rights organisations have become threat to humanity, they legalises and provide contracts to Western countries and to English terror states to kill humans of other countries in mass scale by accusing them for minor human rights violations in their own countries and western countries neglect the fact that the leader of a country committed minor human right violation in his own country just to protect human right violation done by his country man against his another country man. English terror states accuses others for minor human right violations as a excuse to commit major human right violations against others.
Western Christians and atheists take contract and license to kill from human rights organisations to kill Muslims in Muslim countries for practicing Islam and sharia law in their own countries. Millions of Muslims are killed by Western Christians and Western atheists with the help of middle eastern atheists (Ex-muslims )
Human rights violations when committed by western countries doesn’t go beyond Report and when minor violations committed by other countries it goes beyond war and destruction.
American Evangelical Christians and orthodox Russian Christians both are killing muslims in Syria by taking opposite sides.
Muslims don’t have extremist problem, Muslims have Ex-muslims and atheists problem in their communities, middle eastern atheists are cancer in the Muslim world, they have sold their souls to English terror states and now are trading pleasures from them in exchange with the lives of Muslims.
English terror states promotes conflicts against Islam online.
Anti-islamictism is on high in western countries.
Most Western Christians and atheists are Anti-Islamitic.
Speaking of international law – as defined by the shining beacon of freedom, the United States, apparently Trump has tweeted that it is time for the United States to fully recognise Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights. I bet Bibi and Rupert and a few others belonging to the psychopathic 0.1℅ will be thrilled at this development of the United States fully adhering to international law and the international ‘rules based order’…. as they always have, being such moral, ethical, upstanding members of the ‘international community’. There are times I just want to headbutt a fecken wall at the incredible injustice perpetrated by the hegemon – an Empire that has destroyed so many human beings, that has laid waste entire countries. The rank hypocrisy of the West just revolts me. And the monstrous arrogance of Pompeo, Bolton, all of them. And most in Australia, the UK, United States, etc just look away. As always.
Yes, GP, but what you don’t realise is there’s oil (and gas) in them thar heights.
You have to think about Genie Oil’s share price.
And that trumps everything.
The West Bank is next on the list.
Trump should just recognise Israeli sovereignty over Washington DC, Ottawa, Canberra, and Westminster while he;s at it.
And why not .The proverbial cat is now out of the bag . Might as well advertise it on MSM no less .
This map shows the very limited recognition of this ICC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_parties_to_the_Rome_Statute_of_the_International_Criminal_Court#/media/File:ICC_member_states.svg
By population about 3/4 of the world didn’t participate.
So what is your point? Have you heard of morality?
Heard of it but never on International level (the Jungle); you believe that Uruguay, Congo, Afghanistan or Malaysia bringing any to this ICC?
Don’t let basic facts come in the way of your rant.
Yes, I surely do. Are you saying they are unpeople to you? but do tell us why you think they are not suitable.
The crimes of Empires have been going on for hundreds of years.
The League of Nations, the United Nations and the ICC have had their hands shackled since they were formed.
It was inevitable, premeditated and typical of the psychopaths that control Empires.
What have we learned from history?
Nothing.
What have THEY learned from history?
Evil feeds profits.
Fair dinkum, you hit the nail on the head. ‘We’ have learned nothing, TPTB have learned that evil feeds profits – unimaginable wealth and almost unlimited power. People are generally too busy, too lazy, too dumb, or simply don’t realise that for democracy to work, ie for democracy to be government FOR them, they need to pay attention and call STOP when their elected representatives and governments don’t deliver on election promises and don’t deliver moral government and work towards peace. They can only get away with what they do because the great majority of people are ignorant of what’s going on and the MSM are a major player in keeping them ignorant.
The USA is a criminal plutocracy. They have been a toxic cancer in Europe since WW2. It is about time that those European politicians who endorse their illegal actions are shown the door . Here in the UK we can start with T.May and her little gang of right wing bigots. France can follow by removing pin up boy banker Macron. The rest can follow from there. If we let corporate money control our government then we too will share the “American dream”. A nightmare in waiting.
I think your plan is not going to work, i.e. removing those guys at the top. What East Germans did against their continued and unwanted occupation could be more effective and it is called needleprick strategy. Let the occupyers feel they are not welcome. Leave a restaurant when emperors sons come in. Talk loudly at your table how you despise them. Go to the other side of the street when you encounter them. Try to be a nuisance to them wherever you encounter them. Don’t let children or grandchildren play with them and don’t invite them for a birthday party. Yes, they are children but they will ask their parents why they are unwelcome. Anything you can think of, anything that makes them feel uncomfortable.
It’s not just the Pompeo/Trump/Bolton pigs….EVERY American administration has refused to accept accountability for it’s evil doings.
History is written by the victor, they don’t accept because they are top dog – for the time-being. The unification, through free-trade, of Eurasia will reduce the US to an also-ran. At that time we may begin to see some retroactive justice.
https://www.minds.com/offhedge
The ICC, despite its lofty title, is useless while the USA, Russia and the Israel remain non members. The USA couldn’t give a “Tinkers Cuss” what the ICC says, and in the UN, the USA routinely uses its power of Veto to protect its friend(and Master)Israel.
Israel’s influence over Great Britain is there for all to see as well. The Parliamentary Friends of Israel seem to have just as much power over GB as AIPAC have over the USA.
its friend and Master
No, the anti-Israel spiel falls flat in view of the facts. I get it, it’s fashionable among some, but consider the facts. Jews are indigenous to that bit of land, restored and renamed Israel in 1948. It’s some 1% of the Mideast region, with the remaining 99% owned by the various Arab states. Logically, this would put the situation into perspective.The Arab oil lobbies have their hands firmly around the throats of Congress. The lion’s share of US aid to the Mideast goes to the Arab countries.The arguments against Israel’s right to exist are strikingly similar to those of old Europe, when Jews were portrayed as magically powerful, mysteriously able to somehow “influence” governments, etc.
It’s amazing how the zionist hasbara operatives all use the same arguments, almost word-for-word. It’s almost as if they’re reading from a script, or some kind of Hasbara Handbook, or something like that. Maybe there’s some kind of hasbara training course they can take, to ensure a consistent quality of disinformation and propaganda.
a consistent “quality” of anything would be nice.
the regurgitation of “facts” that are not only not factual, but devoid of any context other than “this is fact, and you’re wrong” is so blatantly propagandistic, and, like Craig Summers’ bilge, he who seems to have decamped from MoA to the Intercept, is so obvious in its scripted blandness, that it’s a wonder the writers don’t realise it’s such.
@dhfabian: (if you’re a real person) try to be less dry, do some real research into your assertions, and come with a real argument. just blaming “the arabs” is just old. as old as blaming all jews for the actions of a cabal of zionist psychopaths who have successfully captured large parts of the methods of truth-telling. c minus. try harder
Very interesting links. Should be viewed, if not perused. No mention anywhere of what is right, wrong or fair. All about how to finagle.
Love the Fabian psuedonym, meant to conjure up notions of social justice. What planet are you on? Arab oil lobbies and Congress?
The only place the fake Jews are “indigenous” to is Khazaria, north of the Caspian Sea.
This “restoration”- by genocide and ethnic cleansing, racism and human rights abuses on an industrial scale, is a running sore and a blot on human history and humanity.
What is “fashionable” is grovelling and pandering to their Zionist Masters to the nth degree by all the 30 shekel whore Friends of AIPAC and Friends of Israel. Good little goys one and all.
Try telling Jews that as they own everything in the world you are entitled to steal “just 1%” of it and see what reaction you get.
The oil companies are a hasbara smokescreen for the Zionist stranglehold over US politics, media, economy, and every aspect of national life.
The “Arab oil countries” are run by quisling stooges who wouldn’t last a fortnight without being overthrown by their own people if they weren’t propped up by Uncle Sam. Trump can explain it all to you.
All US “Aid” (Tribute) goes to the Chosen People. Another $38 billion to add to the countless hundreds of billions already extorted. And unlimited quantities of free weapons, including the huge illegal nuclear arsenal.
Israel is the biggest parasite in history, leeching off the rest of humanity. The goys are just donkeys put on the earth to serve the Chosen People, as Ovadia Yosef helpfully explained.
The billions of grossly overpriced arms BOUGHT by Shady Wahabia are protection money to Uncle Sam.
Israel is the only country in the world claiming the “right to exist” as an explicitly, openly racist state with its Nuremberg Race Laws.
If this “magical power” didn’t exist, US teachers and hurricane victims would not be forced to swear loyalty oaths to Israel on pain of dismissal. Anyone criticising Israel would not be facing 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. And Congress would not be full of bought and paid for goy stooges in the pocket of Adelson and Saban, jumping up and down like trained seals to give Nitwityahoo ten minute standing ovations every time he breaks wind.
Nice to see those good little goys earning their shekels.
No question, the scapegoating of Jews/Israel is fashionable among today’s bourgeoisie, as it was during times of economic stress in the past. The rants about AIPAC defy logic, in view of the fact that it’s the Arab oil lobbies who have their hands firmly around the throats of those in Congress (most of whom remember the political fallout from the Arab Oil Embargo of the 1970s). Portraying Israel as a military mega-power trampling over “impoverished” Arab oil states is an absurdity. Israel, the sole Jewish nation, is some 1% of the Mideast region, with the remaining 99% consisting of the various Arab countries. And so on. It really has grown tiresome.
Portraying Israel as a military mega-power trampling over “impoverished” Arab oil states is an absurdity.
It certainly would be, if anybody actually claimed that, but they don’t. Sadly, your hasbara is about fifty years out-of-date. Maybe you should consider a refresher course, to acquaint yourself with modern forms of zionist disinformation. Apparently, scholarships are available for deserving shills such as yourself — see above for details.
Generally I am following you folks well and agree with most of your policieS HOWEVER, I strongly DISAGREE WITH YOU ON YOUR PUTIN-BASHING
Perhaps you could explain it me why you are so anti Putin.
Then I could drop you \with a clear conscience.
Perhaps you could explain wherein the Putin-bashing may be found, since the article above contains no mention of him or his policies, nor do any of the comments so far, except yours.
True but Putin-bashing is very popular among the media. They either accuse him of something and leave out whenever something positive occurs. It is the most braindead universal editorial guideline because Russia will still be Russia when Putin bites the dust. Do they think they can suddenly conquer the Sukhoi Log Gold mine in the Irkutsk area? Will Ukraine suddenly change after Putin is gone and all Crimeans queue up to be ruled by Kyiv again? The paranoid focus on Putin is there, even though not in this article. Someone caught the bug of paranoia – easily done.
It’s just as well that the ICC cannot pursue crimes against humanity and war crimes retrospectively, the US would spend most of it’s time in the dock for several decades, responding to the many acts they are and have been in violation of. The Browder Magnitsky Act was only ever to be applied to countries the US doesn’t like and is yet another sham, or should I say scam.
I don’t buy US goods at all and I send emails to my MP whenever a US President visits the UK. I also make a point of denouncing to the MP’s any Trade negotiations they might be considering with the US.
Sadly, as a Brit, I’m also aware that Britain has also been complicit in both crimes against humanity and war crimes and as a nation we are mere poodles to the whims of our leaders who like to rub shoulders with the fantastic USA. Vomit inducing status for a nation that considers itself “great”!
The US acts more hatefully and the rest of the world loathes them more and more. It is time to stop buying American goods, stop travelling to the US, and treat them with the same lack of respect and decency with which they treat others. This cannot end well. Above the law and beneath contempt. They should be excluded from the international community and the UN should move immediately.
If only…….nearly everyone I talk to holidays in Miami, wants to holiday in Miami, has a holiday home in Miami or wants one. This sickening worship of crassness starts very early with children’s TV.
James O’Neill’s excellent article describing the dangerous, dire condition of international law in 2019 underscores the profoundly important task of blowing up and destroying the Bill Browder-Magnitsky Act scandal.
Why doesn’t NATO make a counter statement that an attempt by any nation to attack or invade the Netherlands will be met with all military means available? After all, that little country is a full member of NATO.
I think we all know the answer to that question.
Summed up nicely a “sham”.