Washington’s opposition to the International Criminal Court, which comes into being tomorrow, is well-known. No less well-known is the Bush administration’s readiness, to use America’s superpower weight to bulldoze the world into its way of thinking — whether the issue is fighting terror, or fighting peace.
That latter is what Washington seems to be set on doing in its battle to fashion the court in a way that would negate the fundamental principle of justice — equality before law. It wants to judge, but not be judged. It wants all war crimes to be punished, but not those committed by its soldiers.
President Bush’s threat to veto the renewal of the mandate of the UN mission in Bosnia, due to expire today unless there is a promise by the new court of immunity from prosecution for any peacekeepers the US contributes to UN missions is nothing less than blackmail. The UN mission in Bosnia is an issue separate from that of the international court. Bush is threatening one to force the result he wants on the other.
This is misuse of America’s privileged position as a permanent member of the Security Council. It is difficult to see it helping America’s cause in any way, driving as it does a wedge between it on the one hand and, on the other, Paris and London, who refuse to permit any watering down of the powers of the ICC. The Bush administration, however, appears blind to how immensely damaging this bullying tactic is to its image as a force for peace and equity in the world, which America has been historically.
What Washington has a perfect right to do is to say that it will not participate in UN missions until the matter is sorted out. That would be an honorable position. But to take the position that threatens a third party — in this case, Bosnia together with its security and welfare — is beyond understanding. This is not the action of a responsible government, but of a bully determined to have his own way and will use any means, no matter how underhand, to do so. It is staggering that a US administration should even entertain such ideas.
Moreover, the threat defies logic. The US has put enough effort into helping bring peace to Bosnia. It is hardly in its own interests to see that now fail. That is what may happen if its threat were carried through. It puts law and order in Bosnia at risk. The fledgling police there have not been exactly proved a roaring success so far, either in bringing together the still fractious communities or in coping with the wave of corruption and mafia-linked crime that has blighted the country since achieving freedom. It needs the UN mission if it is to grow into normality. Does Bush wish to see that happen?
In fact, the impact of the policy will be felt much beyond Bosnia. As Jean-Marie Guehenno, undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations put it, if no solution is found, there would be serious implications for UN peacekeeping operations everywhere. The US could veto every peacekeeping operation as its mandate came up for renewal. At stake is not just Bosnia’s 1,500-strong UN police training mission and the 17,000-strong NATO-led force there, but all 15 UN peacekeeping operations from Cyprus to East Timor as well as the NATO-led force in Kosovo. Not a bright outlook for peacekeeping.
