Letter: U.S. Withdrawal from ICC

NewsMax.com ^ | Monday May 6, 2002 | NewsMax.com

[jgrubbs]

Letter: U.S. Withdrawal from ICC

NewsMax.com
Monday May 6, 2002

UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR
ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
WASHINGTON

Dear Mr. Secretary-General:

This is to inform you, in connection with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court adopted on July 17, 1998, that the United States does not intend to become a party to the treaty. Accordingly, the United States has no legal obligations arising from its signature on December 31, 2000. The United States requests that its intention not to become a party, as expressed in this letter, be reflected in the depositary's status lists relating to this treaty.

Sincerely,

John R. Bolton

The Honorable
Kofi Annan
Secretary General of the United Nations
The United Nations
New York

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ORIGINAL LETTER

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"This is suppose to be reassuring? Something very formal signed by the President, or the Senate would be reassuring, but some little note on bathroom paper from a flunky in the Justice Department just doesn't impress, it leaves far to much wiggle room to be backed away from by both the President and the Senate."

He's with the State Dept, not the Dept of Justice.
Why waste good money on the UN with fancy staionerey?
It's a slap in the face to them.
No wiggle room at all, US Senate HAS to ratify all treaties by 2/3 rd vote.
Even klintoon never sent it to the Senate.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

Dear U.N.,

There is a nice town in Switzerland which already has your offices there and would love to have you permanently. You have our blessings to get the F*** out and reside there from now on.

Sincerely,
The United States of America

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

PRESS RELEASE BY STATE DEPT.

[Sal]

John Bolton is not just some flunky. He and Bob Barr, representing USA to the gun grabbing UN NGO (forget the formal title), basically told the NGO to get flushed--that we weren't going along with anything they came up with that violated the rights of US citizens to keep and bear and the rights of US gun manufacturers to sell their valuable and legal product when and as they wished. It was wonderful. You would have loved it.

The NGO was left in the embarrassing position of expressing their disappointment that they wouldn't be able to achieve their goals at the current time. Unfortunately they set it up for review again--can't remember for sure--couple of years or 5 years from then. I guess they're hoping we have another treasonous administration by then which would go along with them.

[Sal]

P.S. I understand that you meant it would be better if President Bush wrote the letter or even the Sec. State than someone who only works for them.*** It's just that I think so much of John Bolton after the gun thingie (which I'm pretty sure you agree with) that I hate to hear him called a flunky. 8^) This is such a major victory!

***OTOH the fact that X42's attempt to slip this little sovereignty buster through could be casually undone by a little note from the UNDERsecretary... It's a big slap at the UN and an even bigger one at the scumbag. I'm bookmarking this one.

[Sal]

Ooops. I can't figure out how to bookmark anymore. I'd appreciate advice from anybody who knows because I sure want to keep this one.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Right ABOVE the first post
Bookmark Discussion

[rwfromkansas]

Bolton also spoke at a U.N. meeting against their gun-grabbing desires. He is a real person and fairly powerful. Considering that Powell said we are withdrawing from this treaty, I think this is pretty legit.

[rwfromkansas]

Again, Powell himself has said we are backing out of the treaty. Why Bolton...I don't know. But that is who wrote the letter and it IS BACKED BY THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION NO MATTER WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO THINK.

[MeekOneGOP]

:O)

[MissAmericanPie]

I have never heard of John Bolton, it's great that he has ended any involvment this administration will have in the CC, he's sounds like a great patriot.

But I can't get excited about something that can be taken up and in five years and passed. It's not over for this treaty by a long shot and to me that isn't good news.

The people with the real power, didn't sign this letter, the Senate that passes treaties they claim not to have read on voice votes, in hidden rooms away from the public eye, so to me it's smoke and mirrors.

[AF_Blue]

Thanks Tonk!

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

If I was writing that letter, the phrase "Get bent" would be in there somewhere.

[madfly]

Here is something from the House International Relations Committee:

Hyde Praises Decision by Bush Administration to Unsign Treaty Establishing Int’l Criminal Court

     (WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-IL), chairman of the House International Relations Committee, commented today on the announced decision by the Bush Administration to unsign the Treaty of Rome establishing the International Criminal Court:
     “I commend the Bush Administration for restoring honesty to our dialogue with other nations about the International Criminal Court (ICC).
     “Champions of international law should focus their fire on the Clinton Administration for the dubious way in which they signed the treaty establishing the ICC rather than the Bush Administration for correcting the mistaken impression left by their ill-considered action.
     “International law in this regard is clear. Comment (d) to section 312 of the Restatement of the Law Third, Foreign Relations Law of the United States provides that ‘signature [of a treaty] . . . is deemed to represent political approval and at least a moral obligation to seek ratification.’ Accordingly, what is unprecedented is signing a treaty and then simultaneously declaring, as President Clinton did on December 31, 2000, that ‘I will not, and do not, recommend that my successor submit the Treaty to the Senate for advice and consent until our fundamental concerns are satisfied.’
     “It was clear then, and remains clear today, that our fundamental concerns about the ICC will never be satisfied. We simply cannot accept an international institution that claims jurisdiction over American citizens superior to that of our Constitution, and that threatens to prosecute and imprison Americans without benefit of the protections enshrined in our Bill of Rights.
     “For these reasons, overwhelming majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate have voted within the last year for legislation that disassociates the United States entirely from the ICC. In this context, there can be no doubt that the United States will never ratify the treaty establishing the ICC.
     “It would be dishonest for the United States to continue to represent to other nations that we are on track to become a party to that treaty when nothing could be further from the truth. The Bush Administration should be praised for setting the record straight.”      #30#

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Short and sweet. My but Bill Clinton was busy setting booby traps for George Bush those last few weeks in office. On Dec. 18th the electoral college finally made it final....Bush would be President on Jan. 20th, 2001. On Dec. 19th, Clinton pushes the UN to threaten the Taliban once more...."hand over Osama in 30 days, or else..."...30 days being inaugeration eve. Clinton also signed ANWR, making these important oil reserves off-limits to President Bush and forcing our dependence on terrorist nations, arsenic in the water, last minute late Dec. 2000 meetings with both Arafat and Barak...sending them both home upset and in trouble with their own people....Clinton left the White House a mess, and the nation and the world more dangerous and divided places.

[Snow Bunny]

BUMP and thanks for the ping.

[kaylar]

Looks like for now we don't have the bookmarking options. Until we get it back, I've been doing the following things:

Adding threads to my "Favorites" , as if each thread were a website.

Mailing articles to my e mail address using Send Page.

Saving articles to My Documents.

[kaylar]

All this time, and I never noticed the bookmark option was there. Thanks! :-)

[Grampa Dave]

Don't feel like the lone ranger. A lot of us found out where the bookmark was after we complained and asked the question, including yours truly. Then we found out.

The new book mark is great, I wish that there was some way to book mark specific replies. Of course now that I asked, I will find out there has been a method for 5 years.

[CARepubGal]

Amen! That is the next logical step. Please Mr. President: Stop the madness! Withdraw from that third world cesspool misnamed the UN. Send the freaks to Ghana or some other cesspool in the third world. Please Sir! Take that step & throw the (UN) bums out!