Washington May 6, 2002: - The United States said Monday it wants nothing to do with a treaty creating the first permanent international war crimes tribunal, a decision immediately criticized by human rights groups and some lawmakers. Others welcomed the move. "We believe that states, not international institutions, are primarily responsible for ensuring justice in the international system," Marc Grossman, the undersecretary of state for political affairs, said in announcing the Bush administration decision. As constituted today, Grossman said, the international criminal court "claims the authority to detain and try American citizens, even though our democratically elected representatives have not agreed to be bound by the treaty." That threatens U.S. sovereignty, he said.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said the tribunal's planned July 1 start-up "means that our men and women in uniform _as well as current and former U.S. officials_ could be at risk of prosecution. Particularly in the midst of the war against terrorism, Rumsfeld said, the flaws in the treaty are "particularly troubling." Although nations have the authority to try non-citizens who commit crimes against their citizens or on their territory, "the United States has never recognized the right of an international organization to do so" without its consent or without a U.N. Security Council mandate, Grossman said. The International Criminal Court gained the necessary international backing to come into being last month when 10 nations joined 56 others in ratifying the treaty, negotiated in Rome in 1998. President Clinton signed the treaty, but never submitted it to the Senate for ratification. The Bush administration has made its opposition clear.
Pierre-Richard Prosper, the U.S. ambassador for war crimes issues, said the United States has no intention of ratifying the treaty and now considers itself "no longer bound in any way to its purpose and objective." The declaration was contained in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan delivered to U.N. headquarters in New York. Grossman, in a speech Monday in Washington, said President Bush wanted to formally renounce the treaty to avoid creating expectations of U.S. involvement in the future. Instead, the United States favors working with nongovernment organizations, private industry and universities and law schools to help individual countries set up tribunals when needed, officials said. But Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was dismayed by the decision. "Beyond the extremely problematic matter of casting doubt on the U.S. commitment to international justice and accountability," Feingold said, "these steps actually call into question our country's credibility in all multilateral endeavors."
House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said Bush "sent a clear message we do not support this rogue court ... an institution of unchecked power that poses a real threat to our men and women fighting the war against terror. Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., chairman of the House International Relations Committee, said, "We simply cannot accept an international institution that claims jurisdiction over American citizens." But Human Rights Watch, an advocacy group, described the decision as an empty gesture that will further estrange Washington from its allies. The Washington Working Group on the ICC, a coalition of organizations that support the tribunal, said the decision "signals to the world that America is turning its back on decades of U.S. leadership in prosecuting war criminals since the Nuremberg trials." The coalition includes human rights organizations such as Amnesty International-USA and Physicians for Social Responsibility. The court, to be formed this summer, will fill a gap in the international justice system first recognized by the U.N. General Assembly in 1948 after the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials for World War II's German and Japanese war criminals. Tribunals have been created for special situations — like the 1994 Rwanda genocide — but no mechanism existed to hold individuals criminally responsible for serious crimes such as genocide.
Washington February 1, 2002: - President Bush will propose a $2.1 trillion wartime budget on Monday that promises the biggest military buildup since the Cold War, plunging the recession-hit federal government into deficits for the first time in five years. Responding to the unprecedented demands of the September 11 attacks and a recession, Bush will set aside campaign goals of smaller government and fiscal conservatism to propose a 9 percent increase in federal spending in fiscal 2003, which begins on October 1, to fund the war against international terrorism, homeland defense and a new round of tax cuts aimed at stimulating the economy. "Whatever it costs to defend our country, we will pay," Bush declared in his State of the Union address on Tuesday, justifying an unprecedented spending plan that will lead to federal deficits through 2004 and an interruption in the administration's efforts to reduce the national debt.
The military, the budget's biggest benefactor, will get a $48 billion boost, the largest in two decades. That includes a $10 billion "war reserve" that would fund an expansion of the war on terrorism beyond Afghanistan, bringing the total proposed defense budget to $379 billion and drawing comparisons to the first years of the massive military buildup under former President Ronald Reagan. Bush will also propose nearly doubling spending on homeland security to $37.7 billion in 2003, with the ambitious goal of combating bioterorrism and stopping foreigners at the border who might try to launch attacks like those on September 11 against New York and Washington. Both the Pentagon and homeland defense proposals are expected to garner bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, in sharp contrast to the president's plans to boost economic growth and reform Medicare, the federal health program for seniors. Democrats have also vowed to fight proposed cutbacks in job-training grants and other social programs, setting the stage for a budget showdown ahead of the congressional elections in November.
In an abrupt end to a four-year long string of surpluses that began in 1998, the federal budget proposed by Bush will post deficits of $106 billion in fiscal 2002 and $80 billion in 2003. The budget will also project a deficit of $14 billion in fiscal 2004, but White House budget director Mitchell Daniels said a small surplus could emerge "if the economy will resume growth and if we're careful about spending." Economists largely blamed the recession, which started in March and deepened after the September attacks, for the budget's abrupt deterioration. Democrats pointed the finger at the 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut that Bush pushed through Congress last year. In his State of the Union address, Bush called for making those cuts permanent, a move that would cost the federal government about another $600 billion through fiscal 2012. "It's a return to red ink on a grand scale," Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat, complained. "I think we've got an obligation to say to the American people what's true, and what's true is the president is raiding every trust fund in sight and digging us deep into deficits." How deep can it go?
On top of his ambitious military buildup, Bush's budget will revive last year's hotly contested $90 billion economic stimulus plan, despite signs the economy may recover without it. Bush will also set aside $190 billion over 10 years to modernize the Medicare system and help seniors obtain prescription drugs. In addition, Bush will propose an $89 billion 10-year plan to help millions of low income people buy health insurance using tax credits. But these increases in spending come at a cost. A wide range of non-defense programs at the Agriculture, Commerce, Interior and Labor departments will see no growth or cuts next year. Bush's budget will slash funding for "youth opportunity grants," which support job training at the local level. The administration counters that its budget will provide a total of $9.3 billion to help the unemployed, a 36 percent increase. The International Space Station, criticized by the administration for cost overruns, has also been singled out as a possible target for cuts as Bush shifts resources to the war on terrorism and away from federal programs deemed inefficient by the White House.
WASHINGTON September 28, 2001: - New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said Friday it could take a full year to complete the cleanup at the World Trade Center, ground zero in this month's terrorist attacks. A top Bush administration official said Reagan National Airport ``will definitely reopen'' despite its proximity to critical government buildings. The developments came as a delegation of Pakistani religious leaders and government officials pressed the ruling Taliban regime in Afghanistan to turn over Osama bin Laden, suspected as the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks.
The Bush administration pressed its diplomatic efforts to build a coalition to fight terrorism. President Bush, preparing for a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, signed recently passed legislation granting that nation preferential trade rules.
Speaking in New York, Giuliani told reporters it could take nine months to a year to complete the process of removing the destroyed World Trade Center twin towers and the other debris that remains. The towers collapsed shortly after hijacked planes were piloted directly into the upper floors of the buildings.
WASHINGTON September 13, 2001 - Fighting back tears, President Bush vowed Thursday that America would ``lead the world to victory'' over terrorism in a struggle he termed the first war of the 21st century. He announced plans to visit New York, site of the World Trade Center twin towers that were destroyed by attacks earlier in the week. ``I weep and mourn with America,'' the president said at the White House as officials said the death toll from attacks in New York and on the Pentagon Tuesday would reach into the thousands. ``There is a quiet anger in America,'' Bush said in a telephone conference call with New York Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. ``My resolve is steady and strong about winning this war that has been declared on America,'' the president added. ``It's a new kind of war.... This government will adjust and this government will call other governments to join us.''
Bush's eyes were red and wet as he ended his news conference, his head and hands trembling slightly as he made his remarks. Bush spoke as Congress hastened to vote $20 billion as a first installment on recovery and anti-terrorism efforts. There was also discussion about passage of legislation authorizing a military response to the attacks in New York and Washington, although administration officials made clear they believed the president already had the authority he needed. ``We have just seen the first war of the 21st century,'' he said. He said he had consulted a broad range of foreign leaders, had found ``universal support'' for the United States and expected there would be backing for whatever retaliation he ordered. He also said pointedly the United States had been in diplomatic contact with Pakistan, and wanted to give the government there an opportunity to cooperate. Pakistan has close ties with the government of Afghanistan, which harbors Osama bin Laden, a suspect in Tuesday's fearsome attacks. In later comments to reporters, Bush said firmly, ``Now that war has been declared on us, we will lead the world to victory. Victory.''
The president spoke as officials in New York said the list of those missing was roughly 4,700 from attacks that leveled the twin towers at the World Trade Center. In addition, the Defense Department said it appeared about 190 people had died in the attack on the Pentagon, a preliminary estimate that included victims both in the building and in the hijacked airline that plowed into the structure. Search teams had recovered about 70 bodies by morning, said Jerry Roussillon, deputy fire and rescue chief for Fairfax County, Va. ``We're making inroads into the impact area foot by foot now,'' he said. The teams were pulled back from the rubble by a bomb threat made by telephone near dawn, but the threat apparently came to nothing and work resumed.
The reopening of the U.S. air space, planned later Thursday, was bringing one slice of everyday life back to a country frozen in horror since Tuesday's terrorist attacks. But flying promised to be anything but normal; Attorney General John Ashcroft sent U.S. marshals and other agents to airports and airliners to usher in a new era of security. Bush started work in the Oval Office at 7:10 AM Thursday with another round of calls to world leaders as part of his effort to build a multinational coalition. Leaders of Japan, Italy, Saudi Arabia and NATO ``have all said they will stand together with the United States to combat terrorism,'' White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said. He would not say what exactly Bush asked of his counterparts. The president had also talked to a half dozen leaders Wednesday.
Congressional leaders spoke of a strong and sustained - if unspecified - response to terrorism. ``I believe it may take a lot of time, a lot of American treasure and perhaps some American blood,'' Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., said on the morning talk shows. Similar expressions of unity and conviction came from Democrats. ``This is a national crisis,'' said House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo. He said political leaders were as unified now as they were after Congress voted to commit to the Gulf War. Some of the options under consideration by Bush would go beyond the low-risk unmanned cruise missile strikes that have been deployed in past anti-terrorist operations, a senior administration official said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Among them: bombings from manned aircraft and the deployment of special troops on the ground. The official said Bush has made no decision because investigators are still trying to determine with ``as much certainty as possible'' who masterminded the attacks and what country, if any, harbored those individuals.
Officials reaffirmed their belief that Osama bin Laden, a Saudi millionaire expatriate living in Afghanistan, is one prime suspect. The thirst for revenge was apparent in Washington. ``I think everybody is so angry they want to hit somebody,'' Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Wednesday. In all, terrorists commandeered four jetliners on Tuesday, flying two of them into the towering buildings in Manhattan and one into the Pentagon. The fourth -possibly aiming for the White House - crashed southeast of Pittsburgh after passengers apparently struggled with the hijackers. Ashcroft and others described an extraordinary investigation. It stretched from the Canadian border, where officials suspect some of the hijackers entered the country, to Florida, where some of the participants are believed to have learned how to fly commercial jetliners before the attacks. Locations in Massachusetts and Florida were searched for evidence. Internet service providers said they were complying readily with search warrants seeking information about an e-mail address believed connected to the attacks.
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