Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Issue No. 33 September 29 - October 6, 2001 Quezon City, Philippines |
Rule
of Law vs. Rule of War: BY JEFF COHEN Back to Bulatlat.com Alternative Reader Index Many
media voices are enlisting in the push toward war. CBS anchor Dan Rather seemed
more soldier than reporter on Monday's Letterman show when he endorsed the war
drive and added: "George Bush is the President.” Wherever he wants me to
line up, just tell me where." It's
worth remembering that a similar push followed the last dreadful act of
terrorism against America on our soil, Oklahoma City. Many in the mass media
immediately began goading us toward retaliation against a presumed Arab, Islamic
enemy. Columnist Mike Royko called for the overseas bombing of civilian
infrastructures: "If it happens to be the wrong country, well, too
bad." The
bellicose rhetoric came to a stunning halt as soon as it was learned that the
anti-American terrorists were not from the Mideast. In fact, one was from the
Midwest -- Michigan. The leader was Timothy McVeigh, who went to his death
believing himself to be at war against the US. Perhaps
the lesson to be learned from Oklahoma City is that our country did not
take the bait. The U.S. did not declare war on McVeigh and his network of
extremist fellow-travelers. The Bill of Rights and civil liberties were not
trampled on the path to increased security. Instead,
McVeigh and his accomplices were dealt with as a democracy deals with mass
murderers. They were apprehended, prosecuted and punished after being given
trials, lawyers, the right to confront witnesses and challenge evidence. The
armed fanatics who sympathized with McVeigh were not all hunted down and
destroyed, but they've certainly been quieted. Many of us abhor the death
penalty that was given to McVeigh, but the rule of law prevailed. The
terrorists behind the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon are more
numerous, perhaps more dangerous and better protected than McVeigh and friends.
Still, it's appalling how little mainstream media have discussed relying on the
rule of law -- international law -- to pursue the foreign terrorists. Few
news reports have pointed out that there is one body under international law
that can authorize military action: the United Nations Security Council. If the
U.S. has strong evidence against Osama bin Laden and associates, and Afghanistan
continues to refuse extradition to the US, the two countries could negotiate
surrender of the suspects to a neutral country for trial (as happened with
Libyan agents tried for the Lockerbie explosion). If that approach fails, the
U.S. could present its case to the Security Council, which could authorize the
equivalent of an international arrest warrant. That
the United States of America should uphold and adhere to international law is
seen as preposterous, un-American and weak. In a piece titled, "To War, Not
to Court," Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer wrote:
"Secretary of State Colin Powell's first reaction to the day of infamy was
to pledge to 'bring those responsible to justice.' This is exactly wrong." Fox
News Channel offered a rare interview with an actual expert in international
law, Francis Boyle of University of Illinois, who offered a step-by-step legal
process for pursuing the terrorists --- which provoked an indignant Bill
O'Reilly to decry "empowering the U.N." Days later on his show, one of
the most watched on cable news, O'Reilly advocated bombing and destroying the
civilian infrastructures of Afghanistan and Iraq, followed by attacks on Libya. Listening
to the Krauthammers and O'Reillys and leaping into unilateral action does more
than undermine the rule of law. It isolates the US instead of isolating the
terrorists. Much of the world will see an excessive or misdirected U.S. military
action as a tragic rerun of adventures that have callously injured innocent
civilians from Panama to Iraq to Sudan. And
a new misstep will breed ever more anti-American terrorists.
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