The United States, however, has come to show distaste for the International Criminal Court. While President Clinton did sign the ICC treaty in December 2000, it was never sent to the Senate for ratification. The current Bush administration objects to the court on a number of grounds. These include the assertion that the ICC does not give American citizens and US military personnel the same protection afforded to them under the US Constitution. Officials say it also does not entitle Americans to the same defense allowed to them under the US legal system. Furthermore, the government contends that the treaty bypasses the UN charter and the role of the UN Security Council. A final reason is the ICC goes beyond the operation of legal institutions and can determine what a crime of aggression is. In other words, the US believes that the ICC has the ability to arbitrarily determine what is and what is not a crime against humanity, effectively giving the ICC too much power. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has expressed similar reservations, saying that the ICC’s flaws “would be of concern at any time, but they are particularly troubling in the midst of a difficult, dangerous war on terroris

Some topics in this essay:
Rome Statue, Geneva Conference, Guantanamo Bay, George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Security Council, , Red Cross, President Clinton, Constitution Officials, international criminal, international criminal court, criminal court, guantanamo bay, red cross, lawful combatant, combatant status, crimes humanity, legal representation, international courts, human rights, geneva conference language,