Quote:
Originally posted by Azred:
1. Where is the grass-roots movement behind a candidate who is willing to try and unseat Bush in the upcoming election?
2. Now let's look at the word "illegal". Illegal in what context? Is there some governing body (other than the UN) under whose rules we decided to play?
3. For example, suppose it is illegal to wear mismatched socks in my town but not anywhere else. If I visit you and I wear mismatched socks have I violated the law?
4. Usually those who say that America is doing something illegal are referring to the World Court. Since we don't recognize their "authority" then we cannot break their laws because their laws don't apply to us.
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Sorry I numbered your questions, but that was for clarity.
1.
http://www.deanforamerica.com/
2. Illegal in the legal context. Actually, there are several, but the UN is a good umbrella that ties them together. The governing body of law regarding war is made up of treaties -- which are contracts, your word, your bond. Off the top of my head, the UN Treaty, several Vienna and Geneva Conventions, and some WMD treaties (like SALT agreements, etc) would apply. Each one of these is technically a separate legally-enforceable requirement. Just because we snub our nose at the UN does not mean we don't have diplomats sitting there everyday. We are still part of it.
Now, the "legality" or "illegality" of going to war in Iraq is very arguable. When you get down to it, the cease fire accords (several UN resolutions over a dozen year period) Saddam was subject to likely gave the US its own right to go back in to enforce those accords if they were broken -- with or without UN approval.
3. Yes and yes. This is one of my worst hacks. But, it's the way it is. People who aren't from Chicago get stopped here and caught with handguns all the time. Possessing one is illegal here, whether or not you have a permit for the gun, and even if you are just passing through. My wife prosecutes these all the time. Misdemeanor with a fine. You can usually get off, but YOUR GUN IS GONE FOR GOOD, even if it's one of those nice $1200 ones. Too bad so sad.
4. Actually, the US doesn't recognize the International Criminal Court, which was created by a recent Treaty that the US chose not to sign (and for good reason -- that's another thread). The UN court of general jurisdiction however is the International Court of Justice, or ICJ. Only countries can be parties to a lawsuit there. Now, the US did rescind its compulsory jurisdiction agreement after it got pissed when Nicaragua sued it for bombing a harbor in the 80's, but by then most countries had rescinded compulsory jurisdiction. In fact, almost all countries are thumbing their nose at the ICJ. So, in order to get sued there, a country must agree to be sued there on a case-by-case basis. Which, of course, has hamstrung the ICJ.