***** The New York Times April 6, 2002, Saturday, Late Edition - Final SECTION: Section A; Page 15; Column 6; Editorial Desk HEADLINE: A Treaty Bush Shouldn't 'Unsign' BYLINE: By David J. Scheffer; David J. Scheffer was ambassador at large for war crimes issues and the chief American negotiator for the international criminal court during the Clinton administration.
...Some Americans fear the court's theoretical power to investigate United States citizens, particularly the officials who guide our foreign and military policies. But the Rome treaty regime is girded with safeguards that the United States successfully negotiated to protect Americans from politically motivated or unwarranted investigations; the most prominent is the court's duty to defer to national courts first to investigate and prosecute atrocities. Alarmist arguments about foreign judges and unconstitutional practices ignore reality. Our allies and friends, the court's strongest backers, are destined to populate the bench.... *****
David J. Scheffer makes clear that the outcome that he desires is practically the same as what Bush & Co. desire. The problem for European and American liberals is that Bush & Co. don't have as much need for rhetorical cover as they do.