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Clinton Says Calling Assad 'War Criminal' May Complicate Things
[An Nahar] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton... sometimes described as The Woman to Call at 3 a.m.and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Edward Everett... said Tuesday an argument could be made for declaring Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad Lord of the Baath... a war criminal, but said such action could complicate a solution in Syria. "Based on definitions of war criminal and crimes against humanity, there would be an argument to be made that he would fit into that category," Clinton told a Senate hearing on the State Department budget. "People have been putting forth the argument," the chief U.S. diplomat said. "But I also think that from long experience that can complicate a resolution of a difficult, complex situation because it limits options to persuade leaders perhaps to step down from power," Clinton said. The secretary appeared to be referring to Yemen, where the United States supported a deal that gave outgoing Yemeni president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... "complete" immunity from prosecution in return for stepping down. The United States defended that deal as a way to promote democracy in Yemen. In Brussels on Monday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said La Belle France wants to see the Syrian regime dragged before the  International Criminal Court... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... (ICC), saying he would plead for such action before the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. He said he would say that he hopes to "see the international community reflect on the conditions of a referral to the ICC." But he said that, as Syria was not a party to the Rome convention establishing the ICC, the tribunal could not initiate action itself and it would be up to the U.N. Security Council to refer the matter. Posted by: Fred 2012-02-29 |
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