New York Times
Any mention of the new International Criminal Court in Washington these days seems to guarantee an ugly overreaction. The Bush administration and Congress have rushed to outdo each other in bullying the 77 countries that have already agreed to take part in the court, including some of America's closest allies. Forgotten in this frenzy is the court's desirable goal of bringing international war criminals to justice and its substantial protections against abusive prosecutions. Ignoring these realities, Washington prefers to brandish its military and economic power to coerce other countries into exempting all Americans, in advance, from the court's jurisdiction.
In the latest gambit, the State Department last week warned countries participating in the court that they could be denied United States military assistance unless they sign agreements shielding American personnel from the court's authority. This threat, written into the latest big antiterrorism spending bill by Tom DeLay, the House majority whip, does not apply to NATO members and several other close allies, and Mr. Bush has the power to waive it entirely. Regrettably, he hasn't. The same legislation grants the White House permission to use all means, including military force, to free Americans held under the court's authority.
This page shares Washington's desire that no innocent American peacekeeper, aid worker or diplomat get caught up in a politically motivated international prosecution. But that is already assured by treaty provisions that limit the court's jurisdiction to war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity and let it proceed only when national courts fail to prosecute. The court is designed to ensure that a future Slobodan Milosevic, Saddam Hussein or Muammar el-Qaddafi cannot evade justice by manipulating his country's legal system. It is not designed to frame Americans on trumped-up charges. Washington gains nothing by antagonizing longstanding allies.
The reasonable American policy would be to join the court and help it achieve its purposes, which square with longstanding American goals as well. Though that will not happen soon, at the very least the administration and Congress should respect the sovereign right of other countries to join the court without being subjected to American pressure.
Washington Times
As regular readers of this page are well-aware, we have been quite critical of Sen. Joseph Lieberman's handling of the Enron investigation, particularly his unwillingness to agree to call prominent Democrats like former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin before the Governmental Affairs Committee to explain their actions on behalf of firms like Enron. But, when it comes to understanding the most important foreign policy issues of the day -- in particular, the need to explain to the American public why President Bush is right to forge ahead with plans to overthrow Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein -- Mr. Lieberman is providing exactly the right kind of leadership. ...
So far as America's current foreign policy challenge -- the war against international terrorism and the sort of rogue-state totalitarianism represented by rulers like Saddam -- is concerned, Mr. Lieberman will eventually see his own statesmanlike approach to foreign policy vindicated as well. ...
Mr. Lieberman deserves commendation for challenging the modern-day political Left in his own party to come to grips with the reality that America needs to take on Saddam -- sooner, rather than later.
Washington Post
A ranking Iraqi official yesterday flatly ruled out a resumption of U.N. inspections of his nation's weapons of mass destruction. "Inspections have finished in Iraq," said Information Minister Mohammed Saeed Sahhaf. No one can say this is the final word; under Iraq's one-man rule, a minister's words one day can be repudiated the next, just as any official can be purged, without warning or explanation. But the information minister's comments certainly reflect today's reality and provide a useful reminder of what's at stake. ...
It's true that Saddam Hussein isn't the only evil tyrant in the world. He's not even the sole tyrant seeking or possessing weapons of mass destruction. Neither the United States nor the United Nations can or should contemplate military action against every such tyrant who might qualify for membership in the axis of evil. But Saddam Hussein is in a class of his own, and not only because he has hideously used chemical weapons against his own people and others. The world already has considered his case and formed a judgment. If nations prove incapable of enforcing that judgment, the harm will spread far beyond the Middle East.
Boston Globe
White farmers are being forced out of Zimbabwe, but it is President Robert Mugabe who should leave. With Zimbabweans unable to make him go, his neighbors, led by South Africa, need to encourage him to cede power.
About 2,900 farmers out of 4,500 remained in their homes this weekend, hoping that Mugabe would offer them a reprieve. In a speech yesterday he renewed his vow to give most of their land to black Zimbabweans, saying: ''We set ourselves an August deadline for the redistribution of land, and that deadline stands.''
Mugabe is right that the land was expropriated unjustly when white colonialists took over the country in 1890. But Zimbabwe is no longer the sparsely populated land the whites conquered. And the farmers are responsible for Zimbabwe's strong agriculture performance. Until a few years ago Zimbabwe was able to feed its more than 12 million people and have enough food for export. Now, thanks to Mugabe's misrule, it cannot feed itself.
The best approach would be a phased transfer of land supported by foreign donations. That would not serve Mugabe's political purposes, however. Land is used as a reward for Mugabe's supporters, and the confiscations recall his struggle to wrest the country, once known as Rhodesia, from whites. Following a tainted presidential election in March, the United States and the European Union imposed travel sanctions against leading officials. These have little impact, and it would be wrong to impose harsh measures that might harm ordinary Zimbabweans.
South Africa, which borders Zimbabwe, has tried to restrain Mugabe but in an understated way. Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, is trying to create a coalition of African leaders committed to democracy. Mugabe's misrule mocks their efforts. Public pressure ought to replace quiet diplomacy.
Hartford Courant
Civil wars in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala are history, but the conflict in Colombia continues to rage 35 years after it began. Just in the past two years, the United States has given Colombia $1.7 billion, mostly in military aid. The U.S. role expanded substantially during President Bill Clinton's administration.
In spite of the huge security buildup, mortars rained on Bogota last week while Alvaro Uribe was being sworn in as president. At least one bomb exploded near the inauguration ceremony site. Seventeen people throughout the capital city died and more than 80 were injured.
No wonder Sen. Antonio Navarro concluded, "It's worrisome that this happened while 25,000 soldiers and police were deployed" to protect the city, along with Colombian and U.S. aircraft.
In a post-inaugural assessment, Mr. Uribe said his nation is vulnerable. That's an understatement. Marxist rebels control at least one-fifth of the country. Also spreading havoc are smaller right-wing militias. Colombia's armed forces, notwithstanding considerable U.S. assistance, have failed to dislodge the death squads of right and left. ...
Washington cannot win the civil war for Colombians, in spite of the sizable U.S. effort being made. The Colombians themselves have to settle their differences not by continuing the violent struggle but by demanding that their elected government resume negotiations with the rebels.
Mr. Uribe's inaugural words were encouraging. "We are offering democracy, so that arms can be replaced by argument," he said. The conciliatory approach is in contrast to his tough campaign rhetoric that emphasized an iron fist over negotiations.
Americans have a stake in what happens to one of Latin America's most enduring democracies. Colombia, endowed with rich human and natural resources, has the potential to become a world showcase for freedom and prosperity.
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
As continued unease about the economy powers the current momentum to renovate Honolulu's prime tourism district, it is clear why the City Council approved Hilton Hawaiian Village's plan for a 35-story time-share tower. Despite public concerns about blocked views, increased traffic, parking shortages, more people and decreased ocean access, the Council sees the project as an economic benefit and a necessary part of sprucing up Waikiki.
As the focal point of tourism on Oahu, Waikiki is the logical place for industry expansion. The 350-unit structure will refresh a scruffy site and Hilton has promised to clean up its contaminated lagoon and has assured parking and traffic improvements will be made along the choked Ala Moana Boulevard. Although these measures are in Hilton's self-interest, they would help the community at large. The Council should make sure to hold Hilton to its word. ...
The authority faces another tough problem in finding a way to get pedestrians safely from the mauka side of Ala Moana to businesses on the makai side. Few pedestrians now have reason to brave crossing the busy thoroughfare, but to bring necessary customers and commerce to the waterfront, officials are considering overpasses or underground passages. Both have drawbacks and the authority will have to be creative in seeking a solution.
Kansas City Star
India's terrible electric power system reveals clearly the high price citizens there pay because their national government engages in provocative international actions instead of taking care of basics at home.
Power shortages are felt nearly everywhere in the country. Why? For many fixable reasons. There's broad corruption in government-run utilities. Power theft from overhead lines is so common that even Power Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu acknowledges that about half of all power produced is stolen. ...
Indians often are badly served by the government of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He and his coalition don't bear total responsibility for the country's disastrous power sector, but they have been far too slow to introduce reforms.
Officials say they're now committed to a reform program that should help. But the country's leaders have shoved citizens close to social disorder because of the decrepit and corrupt power system. A stable, prosperous, peaceful India is in America's national interest. Bush administration officials should press India's government to fix the power system and should offer whatever help won't be wasted.
Orange County Register
Despite brave words and even brave actions in the face of inauguration-day violence, incoming Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez faces an almost impossible job in trying to end a civil war that has raged at various levels of intensity for at least four decades. Unless he changes the policies and approach he has discussed most prominently so far, he is unlikely to succeed.
Early last Wednesday, inauguration day, homemade mortar shells were fired in the capital of Bogota near the presidential palace. At least 19 people were killed and about 70 wounded, but the inauguration proceeded. The next day Mr. Uribe traveled to Valledupar in a conflict-ridden northern region of Colombia, and vowed to crack down on anti-government guerillas, chiefly the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, with an army of civilian informers equipped with radios to report unusual activities.
The show of determination didn't lead to even a momentary let-up in violence. On Friday FARC soldiers fought right-wing paramilitaries near the northern town of Santa Rosa for control of a gold mine and coca crops, leaving 52 dead. ...
The more military equipment it sends to the Colombian government the more aggressively FARC will pressure peasants to grow more coca. The more aggressively the U.S. presses the drug war - crop spraying is scheduled to double next year - the more it drives up the price of the coca it is unable to destroy. It's almost like a perverse price support system for successful narcotraffickers.
The best bet would be for the United States to stop pressuring Colombia to intensify the drug war. That wouldn't lead to instant peace; any solution is likely to take years if it happens at all. But it's the most constructive first step.
Philadelphia Inquirer
As America assessed its vulnerability to terrorist attack after Sept. 11, attention was riveted on the obvious targets: national landmarks, airports, water supply, nuclear power plants.
Overlooked by many were chemical plants, which use and store toxins like chlorine, the infamous gas of World War I.
To imagine the danger, think Bhopal, India. An accidental chemical release there in 1984 killed 4,000 people and injured thousands of others.
The Environmental Protection Agency has identified 123 U.S. plants -- including several near Philadelphia -- that, in a serious explosion, could harm at least a million nearby residents. An additional 700 plants could each endanger 100,000 people.
These plants and refineries are far from secure. An investigative reporter from Pittsburgh walked unimpeded into control rooms and poked around storage tanks without question at 60 facilities earlier this year.
The quickest fix lies in the Chemical Security Act of 2002, cosponsored by Sens. Jon Corzine (D., N.J.) and Jim Jeffords (I., Vt.). It strengthens safety standards and security oversight. Plants most vulnerable to attack would have 18 months to comply with prevention-and-response plans developed by the government. ...
Safeguarding chemical plants will mean more than extra cones at entrance gates. It may also involve reducing stores of hazardous chemicals, substituting less volatile substances, and developing new technologies to reduce risk. ...
The Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee forged an essential compromise that gives the public general knowledge about which toxic chemicals are used where, but still protects the specifics of security.
The Senate should fast-track this bill when it returns in September and eliminate another potential weapon for terrorists.
(Compiled by United Press International)
