The Berlin Wall, Panama and Iraq

[Clara T]

The Berlin Wall, Panama and Iraq
By Nicolas J S Davies
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Nov 28, 2005, 13:48


The Berlin Wall fell on November 9-10, 1989. Forty days later, the United States invaded Panama. This was the first unilateral U.S. combat operation in Latin America in 60 years. It was also the largest U.S. combat operation anywhere in the world since Vietnam.

The U.N. General Assembly condemned it as a "flagrant violation of international law" by a vote of 75 to 20. The O.A.S. condemned the U.S. for the first time in its history, by a vote of 20 to 1, and the U.S. representative did not vote against an additional O.A.S. resolution condemning his own country for violating the diplomatic status of the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama.

Sixteen years later, the United States is in its second year of having invaded another country, Iraq, and is violating international treaties regarding torture, human rights, prisoners of war and the responsibilities of occupying powers. Further, it has formulated and committed itself to an illegitimate defense strategy in defiance of international law and the U.N. Charter. The Defense Strategy of the U.S.A. (2005) threatens unilateral military action against "gathering threats," "emerging challenges," "to deny an opponent the strategic initiative" and to "defeat adversaries at the time, place, and in the manner of our choosing -- setting the conditions for future security," none of which constitute legitimate bases for military action under international law. The United States Constitution defines international treaties as part of the "Supreme Law of the Land," so these policies are also unconstitutional under U.S. law.

In discussing the second Bush administration's violations of international law and its unconstitutional defense policy, a question often arises. Is this really a radical departure from past U.S. policy, or is it just a new variation on a familiar pattern of U.S. international behavior? Most Americans, and, indeed, most other people too, have formed some view on this question. On the one hand, President Carter and many other Americans express outrage that our government is violating and undermining the international legal system so painstakingly crafted by its predecessors. On the other hand, many Americans believe that, appalling as it may be, this is the way the U.S. government has always behaved.

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