When Biden talks about a “rules-based order”, whose rules is he talking about? What “Law of War”?
by Matt Orfalea, reposted from Racket News, May 24, 2024
The Biden administration mumbled on and on about the importance of upholding the “rule of law”, “international law”, and the “laws of war” until the International Criminal Court (ICC)—the one permanent international criminal court in the world—actually tried to uphold it. So when Biden talks about a “rules-based order”, whose rules is he talking about? What “Law of War”?
On Monday, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan filed warrant applications against three top Hamas leaders (Yehia Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Ismail Haniyeh), Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant; and Isreal’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Earlier this month, just ten days before ICC’s announcement, the Biden administration released a report finding it “reasonable to assess” that Israel used U.S. weapons to violate international humanitarian law (IHL).
…it is reasonable to assess that defense articles covered under NSM-20 have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its IHL obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm…At the same time, it is also important to emphasize that a country’s overall commitment to IHL is not necessarily disproven by individual IHL violations…
Nevertheless, when ICC accused Israel of violating international law, Biden joined Bibi Netanyahu, calling ICC’s decision “outrageous”.
Last year, The Kremlin dismissed the ICC prosecutor in the same manner, using the same language, calling Khan’s charges against Russian President Vladimir Putin for actions in Ukraine, “outrageous”.
Then Biden said he thought the ICC was “justified” and “makes a very strong point”, adding that Putin, “clearly committed war crimes”.
After October 7th, Biden whipped out the “laws of war” rhetoric again to establish a “difference” between the brutality of a US enemy and the brutality of a US ally.
BIDEN (10/10/23): “…Democracies like Israel and the United States are stronger and more secure when we act according to the rule of law. Terrorists purposely targets civilians. Kill them. We uphold the laws of war. Laws of war. It matters. There’s a difference.”
One week later, Biden didn’t seem so sure about Israel’s commitment to upholding the “laws of war”. When asked by a reporter for a status update, the POTUS literally walked away from the question.
REPORTER: “Are Israelis operating within the rules of war that you talked about last week being so important?”
BIDEN: “Good talkin’ to you all.”
Five days later, Biden told 60 Minutes that he was “confident” that Israel would act under “the rules of war”. Although, he never did comment on whether Israel actually was or wasn’t abiding by those rules, or even what rules he was referring to.
On October 24, 2023, The Grayzone’s Liam Cosgrove finally got to ask the Pentagon, specifically, “Which law is being referred to here?”
COSGROVE: “So when the Biden administration and the DoD say they’re confident that Israel will follow the law of war, I’m wondering, ‘Which law is being referred to here?’. Is it like the Geneva Convention, the United Nations, ICC?
He didn’t get an answer. The Pentagon spokesman continued to speak of the nebulous “laws of war” and told Cosgrove he’d have to ask Israel itself if it’s abiding by them.
Despite neither defining nor specifying the “laws of war”, the administration insisted repeatedly that international law was of the utmost importance. It’s what separates the good guys from the bad guys. It’s our “respect” for international law that “distinguishes” and “separates” us from Hamas, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the world.
BLINKEN (10/20/23): “But we’ve been very clear as well that the way Israel does this matters, and in particular, it’s important that operations be conducted in accordance with international law, humanitarian law, the law of war as applicable…And again, it’s what distinguishes us, distinguishes Israel from terrorist groups like Hamas.”
BLINKEN (10/10/23): “What separates Israel, the United States and other democracies when it comes to incredibly difficult situations like this is our respect for international law and as appropriate, the laws of war…And again, that’s what separates us from Hamas.”
Those lines of separation appear to have been completely abandoned with the US response to the International Criminal Court this week. The administration immediately shifted from “respecting” international law as a crucial “democratic” value to “fundamentally rejecting” it.
Matt Orfalea is an accidental journalist and video creator.
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