Nat Parry

on International Law a la Carte.

A snip:

"The Bush administration's new regard for international law also comes after Bush failed to win the backing of the United Nations Security Council for the invasion of Iraq.

"Unable to persuade a majority of the counsel to endorse an immediate war with Iraq, Bush decided to ignore the U.N. Charter's ban on aggressive warfare. Indeed, Bush put U.S. troops in greater jeopardy under international law by ordering them to wage war outside the U.N. Charter, against a country not threatening the United States.

"That background has left many in the world viewing the administration's outrage over videotapes of American POWs as a case of a country that likes its international law a la carte, effectively picking and choosing when the rules apply and when they shouldn't.

"Now, as the U.S. military campaign in Iraq finds itself confronting unexpected obstacles and dangers, the Bush administration is using the videotaped interviews to fan the flames of American war passions.

"Meanwhile, the Bush administration has sidestepped any debate about its inconsistency toward the Geneva Conventions. In maintaining this contradictory posture, Bush has been aided and abetted by an American news media that has--with very few exceptions--substituted pro-war cheerleading for anything approximating professional journalism."