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...which you've almost certainly heard to death by now, since it's kind of become the unofficial meme of the 9/11 doves. i know that when i used it in chatrooms people got sick of it in pretty short order. but you ain't gonna hear me stopping just yet - because what began as an appeal to forestall a kneejerk American reaction - an indiscriminate military response - is increasingly the crux of the argument about what the 'International Community' should do next...
i've posted this before, so my apologies - but it's important, and i don't think it's been addressed on the board yet.
quote:1. 9/11 was, as Monbiot says, 'a crime against humanity'. this is not that same thing as 'an act of war'.
2. we must find those responsible. the US intelligence agencies claim they are very close to doing this, and more importantly, are willing to share their information. now, of course, we have to be wary - the prosecution in any case can twist the evidence to suit their own purposes - but still - if the internatonal community (including the public) is given access to the raw material upon which the US has made its decision - that's an incredible leap.
3. supposing scrutiny by the international community leads to other nations, NGOs and people broadly agreeing with the US interpretation of the facts, and maybe even the culprit - the UN sanctions an international operation to capture the prime suspect.
4. when the prime suspect is captured, s/he stands trial in an international court, presided over ultimately by the UN, not the US. the victim of a crime cannot pass judgement on the crime - transfer the analogy to a domestic criminal case and you can easily see how this is an absolute law.
5. in the full glare of the world's media, mainstream and indie, the court reaches a decision.
6. the UN is given the power it should have had all along. every nation is answerable. international law is invalid unless it serves the weak as the strong, the poor as the rich.
put it another way -
Q: what, then, if not war?
A: international law. |
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