>Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2003 16:24:31 -0400 (EDT)
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>Subject: NYTimes.com Article: U.S. Suspends Aid to 35 Countries Over New
>  International Court
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>U.S. Suspends Aid to 35 Countries Over New International Court
>
>July 2, 2003
>  By ELIZABETH BECKER
>
>
>
>
>
>
>WASHINGTON, July 1 - The Bush administration suspended all
>American military assistance to 35 countries today because
>they refused to pledge to give American citizens immunity
>before the International Criminal Court.
>
>The administration warned last year that under a provision
>of the new American antiterrorism law, any country that
>became a member of the new court but failed to give
>exemptions to Americans serving within its borders would
>lose such aid.
>
>That includes training programs as well as financing of
>weapons and equipment purchases.
>
>Many of the countries affected, like Colombia and Ecuador,
>are considered critical to the administration's efforts to
>bring stability to the Western Hemisphere. Others, like
>Croatia, are preparing to join NATO and were counting on
>American help to modernize their armed forces.
>
>Officials said that in all, $47.6 million in aid and
>$613,000 in military education programs would be lost to
>the 35 countries.
>
>The new court is the world's first permanent forum for
>putting on trial people charged with genocide and other
>crimes against humanity. The administration strongly
>opposes it on the ground that Americans could be subjected
>to politically motivated prosecutions.
>
>"There should be no misunderstanding, that the issue of
>protecting U.S. persons from the International Criminal
>Court will be a significant and pressing matter in our
>relations with every state," Ari Fleischer, the White House
>spokesman, said today.
>
>President Bush signed a waiver exempting 22 countries
>because they had signed but not yet ratified immunity
>agreements. That list includes Afghanistan, Sierra Leone
>and Nigeria.
>
>Full members of NATO, and other major allies - including
>Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Japan and South Korea - are not part
>of the military assistance prohibition.
>
>Prince Zeid Raad al-Hussein of Jordan, the president of the
>assembly of nations that signed the treaty establishing the
>court, said 90 countries had become members despite
>Washington's opposition.
>
>"The simple conclusion is that the American campaign has
>not had a negative effect on the establishment of this
>court," said the prince, who is his country's ambassador to
>the United Nations. "We have a court in place, a very fine
>panel of judges, a prosecutor, and we should be fully
>running by the end of the year."
>
>The original provision passed by Congress in the
>antiterrorism law emphasized American service members, but
>the administration has interpreted it to include all
>citizens of the United States.
>
>Lincoln P. Bloomfield Jr., the assistant secretary for
>political military affairs, said the administration had no
>intention of undermining the court.
>
>Instead, he said, the administration wants to preserve its
>right to remain outside its purview, especially with a rise
>in the number of attempts to charge American officials with
>war crimes.
>
>"Our opposition is not meant to be a lack of respect for
>the jurists involved in the I.C.C.," Mr. Bloomfield said.
>"It is concern that there could be politically motivated
>charges against American citizens. Several standing
>officials have been under war crimes indictment in Belgium
>this year for their roles in the 1991 gulf war."
>
>He said those included Vice President Dick Cheney and
>Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.
>
>Supporters of the court dismissed that argument, saying the
>Belgian court is a national body very different rules from
>those of the new international court, which has safeguards
>that would help protect American officials.
>
>Richard Dicker, a director of Human Rights Watch in New
>York, which has lobbied for the court's creation, said the
>suspension of military aid today amounted to a defeat for
>the current campaign against the court.
>
>"This policy is creating a dilemma where the administration
>has to chose between sound military cooperation with
>democratic nations and this campaign of ideology against
>the international criminal court," he said. "I've never
>seen a sanctions regime aimed at countries that believe in
>the rule of law rather than ones that commit human rights
>abuses."
>
>Senior administration officials said the announcement
>should not be seen as a permanent freeze on all military
>aid to the 35 countries.
>
>The aid can be resumed if they sign the exemption
>agreement, or the president can issue waivers at any time
>if he believes that by failing to help a foreign government
>face an emergency, the country's national security would be
>put at risk.
>
>That was little comfort to the nations that lost military
>assistance today. Richard A. Boucher, the State Department
>spokesman, said the July 1 cutoff would have differing
>impacts on the countries.
>
>"There may be places where, you know, most of the money has
>been spent," he said. "There may be places where most of
>the money has not be spent."
>
>One example he cited was Colombia. Of the more than $100
>million that the United States was to give to Colombia this
>fiscal year in military assistance, only $5 million will be
>suspended.
>
>"As of today we're suspending the assistance and the
>provision of defense articles to countries that failed to
>receive waivers," said Maj. Michael Shavers, a Defense
>Department spokesman."I can't tell you which countries will
>be affected, because we don't have the list yet."
>
>Among those in limbo could be foreign officers and students
>preparing to receive professional military training here,
>as well as governments that were relying on the United
>States to finance the purchase of American weapons and
>services.
>
>http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/02/international/02COUR.html?ex=1058177471&ei=1&en=ef76e4fc8c4d033e
>
>
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