Teflon Europe

National Review Online ^ | March 17, 2006 | Victor Davis Hanson

[dr_who_2]

Everbody's favorite arch-neocon hits the ball out of the park.

[goldstategop]

The Europeans can't even bring their trial of a Serbian strongman to a conclusion and they have the effrontery to lecture Iraq about its non-adherence to European judicial standards. What's funny is how the American Left defends European snobbery towards those ex-colonial subjects. As Victor Davis Hanson has observed brilliantly, there's this assumption Europe can do no wrong. In truth, Europe is far more incompetent than that slander the Left has hurled without basis, against the Bush Administration.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[Billthedrill]

I have always wondered if the French who criticize Guantanamo Bay or Abu Ghraib, for that matter, recall the little matter of the Algerian civil war during which their own methods for extracting information were not always exemplars of gentleness...

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

In the most egregious cases, they bound prisoners to chairs, propped their eyelids open, and made them watch Jerry Lewis movies.

{/sarc}

[A. Pole]

The Europeans can't even bring their trial of a Serbian strongman to a conclusion and they have the effrontery to lecture Iraq about its non-adherence to European judicial standards.

The Hague tribunal is not a European tribunal. It was set up by UN and has support of USA too. Dutch have more influence on this tribunal because it is on their soil.

The reason why the trial against Milosevic could not be brought to a proper conclusion (other than his death) was that it is impossible to prove the guilt for a genocide which did not take place.

[voletti]

Awesome article.
Every word rings true and the analysis hits home.

Have VDH in the title in brackets - that will catch the attn of more like mindeds out there. Am surprised this thread received so little traction.

[Tolik]

    Victor Davis Hanson Ping ! 

       Let me know if you want in or out.

Links: FR Index of his articles:  http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=victordavishanson 
His website: http://victorhanson.com/     NRO archive: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson-archive.asp

[bill1952]

In America, the Hague is seen as 100% EU.

The American support, through the UN is correctly seen as Clintonian window dressing for his attempts to wag the dog.

There is no support for the ICJ in the US, other than to be used as a talking point - for something that we must avoid - in elections.

[jveritas]

Great article.

[jveritas]

I prefer to call it "Hypocrite Europe".

[A. Pole]

In America, the Hague is seen as 100% EU.

Very convenient but not true.

[ml1954]

It had a no-win mandate, and will probably close soon due to international outcries about its supposed barbarity.

On release, each prisoner should be given a one-way ticket to a European nation from the list of those that have criticized Guantanamo. The treatment of the prisoners on arrival and after, until they leave that country, should be closely followed and reported.

[maica]

VDH is the best connector of dots writing today.

[FreedomPoster]

Wow. Just wow.

While I love VDH, many of his columns lately have seemed flat, prepared just to meet a deadline.

*This* is *not* one of them.

[bill1952]

Okay. How about non-American?

[A. Pole]

Okay. How about non-American?

It is natural that people confuse the location of this tribunal with its legal status. Same as some could confuse UN with US since the UN is based in New York.

You cannot base your reasonings on popular perceptions.

[Wallace T.]

High profile prisoners in American prisons who are disliked by those in power have died much like Milosevic did, through an "unfortunate" mishandling of medications. Remember the fate of Jim McDougal in the Federal penitentiary in Fort Worth during the Clinton years.

[FreedomPoster]

What "muscle" there is, diplomatically, politically and militarily, behind the Hague ICC, is largely European.

[JamesP81]

The reason why the trial against Milosevic could not be brought to a proper conclusion (other than his death) was that it is impossible to prove the guilt for a genocide which did not take place.

Bingo. That whole situation was vintage Clintoon. We sided with terrorist killers against a sovereign and legitimate government. That said, I'm sure Milosevic saw some bad stuff done during his time in power, but the truth is that there's no way you can make the case that he was any worse than his enemies. Yet, he is the one who was brought into a courtroom, not his enemies. And the reason is simple: Milosevic's enemies were muslims, the ultimate protected group in this world.

[A. Pole]

What "muscle" there is, diplomatically, politically and militarily, behind the Hague ICC, is largely European.

Not European - just Dutch. Hague is a Dutch city. Blame the Dutch.