American? Here's your get out of jail free card.

[dutchdemocrat]

It's not because it's about the Americans that this is an outrage, no it is because it has elevated one group of people over humanity.

Bushco slips past International Criminal Court...

Yea... great. Nothing happens when slaughter goes down. These countries were economically forced into this I am sure.

Amnesty for U.S. citizens boosted

By Betsy Pisik
THE WASHINGTON TIMES


NEW YORK — The Bush administration has negotiated agreements protecting Americans from prosecution by the International Criminal Court with more than five dozen nations, knitting together a partial shield to protect U.S. citizens from politically motivated prosecutions.
As of this week, 68 governments have signed treaties with the United States promising not to surrender American soldiers, lawmakers or civilians to the court's jurisdiction. About half of these countries are parties to the ICC.
The so-called Article 98 agreements have outraged legal analysts who support the ICC. The pacts also have created rifts in the European Union; some governments in the bloc would like to sign them but cannot because of a negotiated common position in support of the court.
So sensitive is the issue in some countries that more than a dozen governments, including those of Egypt, Nigeria and Pakistan, have signed agreements but declined to announce that to their publics.
Other countries that signed such pacts in confidence include Kuwait, Morocco and Bangladesh, U.S. officials told The Washington Times.
The officials say the bilateral agreements are not an ironclad protection for U.S. citizens but are the best the Bush administration can do right now.

http://www.washtimes.com/world/20031008-113708-1189r.htm

A better article from Asian Times

And justice for all?
By Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON - Countries that refuse to exempt US citizens and soldiers from the jurisdiction of the new International Criminal Court (ICC) could lose almost US$90 million in military aid from the United States in fiscal year 2004, which began on October 1.

On July 1, the administration of US President George W Bush cut some $30 million in military aid to 32 friendly countries - most of them democracies - because they refused to sign deals with Washington. Among them were a number of new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe, some of which have contributed troops to bolster the US-led occupation in Iraq. Brazil, Costa Rica, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, South Africa and a number of other Latin American and African countries, were also on the list.

The cuts were mandated by the 2002 American Servicemembers Protection Act (ASPA). Its purpose is to ensure that the ICC, which began operating at The Hague in the Netherlands last spring, can never gain jurisdiction over US citizens.

Among other provisions, the ASPA authorizes the president to use all necessary means, including force, to free US service members held by the ICC, the world's first permanent tribunal to prosecute the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide

SNIP

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/EJ08Aa02.html

[7th_Sephiroth]

1. obviously

an open bribe, if i were these countries i would forgo the loss that accept blood money