mbs
P.S. I don't believe JH identifies as a leftist.
You see things in realpolitick terms (very Kissinger of you -- indeed, quite reminiscent of the segregationist South's argument against the North's attempts to enforce integration), so you oppose the idea of war crimes trials in a world dominated by the US. If this is the case, then nothing humane can happen internationally until the USG falls, is overthrown, reverts to isolationism, or subscribes to James Heartfield's politics. Till then, the likes of Kissinger, Milosevic, Saddam, Pinochet and Suharto should expect no international action to stem their aggression or punish their crimes since the US runs the joint, therefore any charge would be false and would merely serve Empire.
In such a sphere we see leftists defend war criminals as an act of anti-imperialism. How the Empire controls our every move and thought . . .
DP