Big Donald, judge/jury

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Have you begun to feel that the U. S. is making friends in all the wrong places these days?

Of course this blog is basically about Donald Trump. As he persists in denigrating American journalism with his ongoing childish rant about “fake news,” I feel obligated to circulate some of the real news involving him—news that merely records what he’s saying, what he is doing and what’s being done under his aegis.

I also am encouraged in my efforts by such things as  the Washington Post fact-checker department’s report that Donald just passed his 5,000th lie since taking office (more on that later perhaps). He also has been stacking our judicial system, not only the Superior Court but also down through appellate and U. S. district courts—which is why I’m standing up for the International Criminal Court, which he refuses to recognize—mainly, I’m sure, because he has no personal jurisdiction over it or benefit to gain from it. 

The ICC took some flak from respondents to my preceding blog, being called such things as a “sound-good, do-nothing” organization. But why is it relatively ineffective in its aim to penalize such things as genocide, as in Sudan, or various war crimes.  It's because of some major nations’ resistance to recognize its authority, those fearing coming under its judicial scrutiny--such as, say, the U.S. for allegedly using torture on war prisoners in Afghanistan or Israel for its treatment of Palestinians . . . or Saudi Arabia . . . or Russia, China, North Korea . . .

Take this headline from The Washington Post Sept. 15: "The Trump administration vouches for its Saudi friends as civilians die in Yemen." Here is the gist of the story:

“Last Sunday, forces backed by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia launched a new offensive around Yemen’s port of Hodeida, through which flows 70 percent of the supplies for 8 million people in danger of starvation. On Wednesday, the Saudi-UAE coalition claimed to have blocked two key supply routes into the city, which is held by Houthi rebels who form one side in Yemen’s civil war. The fighting renews the risk that the hunger and epic cholera epidemic stalking Yemen will spiral out of control — a threat the United Nations has repeatedly cited in calling for a cease-fire.

“It was, therefore, remarkable that the Trump administration on Tuesday certified to Congress that the Saudis and their allies are ‘making every effort to reduce the risk of civilian casualties’ and facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries in Yemen. The official notice was required for the Pentagon to continue supporting Saudi and UAE operations, including bombing that has killed thousands of civilians. It flies in the face of the conclusions of virtually all other observers of the Yemen war, as well as the ongoing fighting on the ground.

“Congress passed the Yemen aid restrictions last month in response to serial atrocities by the Saudi-UAE forces that a U.N. panel of experts said may amount to war crimes. Among them was the Aug. 9 airstrike on a bus packed with young boys that killed at least 51, including 40 children. CNN later reported that the bomb that destroyed the bus had been supplied by the United States, which also provides refueling support to coalition planes. Congress members such as Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) raised the legitimate concern that U.S. military personnel could be seen as aiding and abetting such crimes.

“After the legislation passed, and with this week’s deadline for certification looming, the Saudi-UAE coalition issued a statement Sept. 1 calling the bus attack — which it previously had strongly defended — unjustified. The Trump administration, in turn, seized on that token gesture to justify its certification.

Independent international observers disagree. ‘There is little evidence of any attempt by the parties to the conflict to minimize civilian casualties,’ the head of the U.N. investigation team said an Aug. 28 statement accompanying its report, which found that Saudi-UAE bombing was responsible for most of the civilian deaths in the three-year-old war. A report by Human Rights Watch said the ‘woefully inadequate’ investigations by the Saudi-UAE coalition of civilian casualties were little more than coverups of likely war crimes.”

It became clear long ago that the only solution to the Yemen war is a U.N.-brokered peace settlement, to which the Trump administration gives lip service but which has come to nought. Donald remains disdainful of the UN in about every way, as his personal opinions do not reign supreme there. He also seems averse to utilizing U. S. funding to alleviate human suffering.

The latest Saudi-UAE offensive raises the obvious question of whether the Gulf allies were ever serious about the peace process. The same could be said of the Trump administration. In certifying the coalition’s behavior even as the assault on Hodeida went forward, the administration flouted our own Congress’s restrictions.

Meanwhile, we and the Saudis, among others, apparently remain immune to the ICC’s purpose to prosecute states and individuals for international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes—as we just refuse to acknowledge its purpose or accept its jurisdiction.

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