Colin Powell says, hey Belgium, easy on the war crimes laws

Belgium has laws against war criminals, and they enforce them. Pity poor Colin Powell, he’s all in a tizzy that if he or other senior Administration members go to Belgium they could be arrested for war crimes (after they are no longer in office, as heads of state and ranking officials are exempt under Belgium law).

“We have cautioned our Belgian colleagues that they need to be very careful about this kind of effort, this kind of legislation, because it makes it hard for us to go to places, it puts you at such easy risk,” Powell said.

“It affects the ability of people to travel in Belgium without being subject to this kind of threat,” he said. “For a place that is an international centre they should be a little bit concerned about this.”

No Colin, the one that should be a little bit concerned is you. You and the rest of your merry band of warmongers have, in just eighteen months, made the U.S. a pariah in the eyes of much of the planet.

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LSD lab raid surprised rural Kansans

Especially since the lab was in a former missle silo

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I’m sensing a trend…

India says attack on Iraq is unjustified.

China demands halt to attack on Iraq.

Russia’s Putin calls on US to end Iraq war.

Indonesia blasts US attack on Iraq, demands Security Council meeting.

France, Russia, Germany say Iraq was illegal.

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Sen Robert Byrd on the Senate floor yesterday

A magnificent speech. Some excerpts:

“Today I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America that of the strong yet benevolent peacekeeper. The image of America has changed. Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned.

Instead of reasoning with those with whom we disagree, we demand obedience or threaten recrimination. Instead of isolating Saddam Hussein, we seem to have isolated ourselves. We proclaim a new doctrine of preemption which is understood by few and feared by many. We say that the United States has the right to turn its firepower on any corner of the globe which might be suspect in the war on terrorism. We assert that right without the sanction of any international body. As a result, the world has become a much more dangerous place.

We flaunt our superpower status with arrogance. We treat UN Security Council members like ingrates who offend our princely dignity by lifting their heads from the carpet. Valuable alliances are split.

After war has ended, the United States will have to rebuild much more than the country of Iraq. We will have to rebuild America’s image around the globe.

Why can this President not seem to see that America’s true power lies not in its will to intimidate, but in its ability to inspire?”

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House member blasts Bush on Iraq war

Rep. Stark (D-CA) says plan to bomb Baghdad is ‘act of extreme terrorism’

“I think unleashing 3,000 smart bombs against the city of Baghdad in the first several days of the war . . . to me, if those were unleashed against the San Francisco Bay Area, I would call that an act of extreme terrorism,” said Stark.

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