THE EMPIRES STRIKES BACK

NEW YORK -- On June 6, President Bush ( news - web sites) ended his address to the nation on homeland security legislation by saying: "History has called our nation into action. ... Will America -- with our unique position and power -- blink in the face of terror, or will we lead to a freer, more civilized world? There's only one answer: This country will lead the world to safety, security, peace and freedom."



It sounded as if our homeland was the whole world. Now that his anti-terrorism legislation has become law, it is obvious that he meant what he said -- and perhaps more. Fast-forward to last week, after he signed the 35-page Homeland Security Act of 2002. These paragraphs are from The New York Times of Aug. 10:

"The Bush administration, making use of the new anti-terrorism law, warned foreign diplomats this week that their nations could lose all military aid if they became members of the International Criminal Court without protecting Americans serving in their countries from its reach ..."

"Under a little-remarked provision in the anti-terrorism package President Bush signed last week, President Uribe (of Colombia) can now use dozens of American-applied helicopters as well as Colombian soldiers who were trained by United States troops in operations against leftist guerrillas. ... Previous guidelines limited the use of the helicopters and soldiers to anti-drug operations."

Two days later, on Aug. 12, The Times reported: "Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is considering ways to expand broadly the role of American Special Operations forces in the global campaign against terrorism, including sending them worldwide to capture or kill al-Qaida leaders far from the battlefields of Afghanistan ( news - web sites)."

So, we are not only preparing to get back into the assassination business everywhere in the world, but our trained killers will be immune from any punishment and any questioning not personally approved by Bush and his successors. One way to define the reach of the power the United States thinks it has is to note that only a handful of countries -- Iran, Iraq and Cuba among them -- do not receive some of the billions of dollars a year we spread around in military aid to other countries.

This is our new idea of law and order. Republicans have taken to calling the international court "the rogue court." We have decided to make our stand on a 1950s Cold War view of law. It all seemed so sensible, even moral, until President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and the public discovered, in congressional hearings in 1975, that our guys were out there trying to kill anyone who disagreed with us, beginning with Fidel Castro ( news - web sites). Judging by that, we will learn what is going on now in about 30 or 40 years -- when it will be too late.

Once again, Congress is signing off on it knows not what. The law passed by the Senate and House also provides that if any country defies us by charging any Americans, military or civilian, the president has the authority to free them by any "necessary and appropriate means" -- up to and including invasion. We could, for instance, invade the Netherlands if international courts charged one of us with conduct unbecoming an American.