Bush, the UN, and the ICC. (The Last Word).(George W. Bush, United Nations and the International Criminal Court)(Brief Article)(Column)

Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) is well known to readers of this magazine as a leading opponent of the UN and other international agencies that compromise our national sovereignty. Since 1997, Representative Paul has introduced H.R. 1146, the American Sovereignty Restoration Act, in each term of Congress. H.R. 1146 would accomplish complete U.S. withdrawal from the UN.

George W. Bush, on the other hand, is squarely in the UN's corner. Although he may occasionally offer lip service against some new proposal for radically expanding UN powers, his position on the UN is very clear -- and that position is the antithesis of Ron Paul's.

But regarding the UN's soon-to-be-established International Criminal Court, the administration has voiced concerns that could have come from Paul's lips. And Paul has responded by heaping almost lavish praise on the administration.

"Paul Applauds President Bush For Renouncing International Criminal Court," read the headline on a May 7th press release issued by the congressman's office, quoting him as stating: "I am thrilled that the President took this brave action to protect our citizens, our soldiers, and our Constitution.... In the face of tremendous international pressure to surrender more and more of our national sovereignty to global bureaucrats, the Bush administration stood firm against this unconstitutional tribunal."

The congressman's office issued a related May 9th release also praising President Bush for maintaining an anti-ICC stance: "[President Bush] deserves our praise and our support for bravely standing against the ICC and against UN bureaucrats who have so little regard for our laws. Congress must act to ensure that American taxpayers are not forced to pay for yet another UN scheme -- especially one that the President expressly rejected."

The release referred to H. Res. 416, introduced by Rep. Paul on May 9th, "Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the International Criminal Court." As was the case with the two press releases, the resolution mixes valid concerns about the ICC with more praise for Bush, namely: "President Bush should be commended for renouncing the U.S. signature from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a step toward protecting American service-members and citizens from the possibility of unwarranted and politically-motivated prosecutions...."

H.R. 1146 -- which, in the course of getting the U.S. out of the UN, would remove most of the threat posed by both the UN and the ICC -- has thus far picked up ...