Lost World

The 9-5 heartwrenching loss of the steamers tonight doesn't even compare to the loss suffered by all with the announcement that the United States will be pulling out of the enforcement part of the Vienna Consular Treaty (Hat tip: Bashman).

How much can I fuck international law over? Let me count the ways. Death sentences (nevermind trials) to nationals of other countries without access to their consulate (imagine if an American couple in China were tried and executed without the knowledge of the US embassy...why that'd be outrageous, violation of human rights, blah blah blah self-righteous bull shit). Then of course we have the military "torturing" prisoners. I use that in quotes because we get to define torture and you know, changes with the color of the leaves. As John Yoo likes to say, the Geneva Conventions did not contemplate terrorism (I just sometimes wonder if he thinks whether the conventions contemplated barbarism by militaries). Kyoto...stay out. Court of Justice? Not in my back yard. Mines? Yes, please. We have a military-industrial complex with a voracious appetite and an even bigger pocketbook. I'm sure indiscriminate shooting violates some agreement

Anyway, we might yearn for the days of Henry Cabot Lodge, when international cooperation was at least debated.

If you're interested in the legal aspects of the case, Opinio Juris has several posts (from the US can do whatever it wants perspective) and the SCOTUSblog has a slightly different angle. (Hat tip: VC and Bashman on these)