The Insidious Wiles of Foreign Influence

Since the end of the Cold War, and now with George W. Bush in office, the US has grown notably resistant to foreign legal influence, writes The Economist. According to this commentary, Washington exhibits a striking ambivalence with regard to international law: While the Bush administration advocates global rules on trade, finance, and international investment, it also opts out of other international legal frameworks – the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Kyoto Protocol, for instance. John Bolton, President Bush's choice for ambassador to the UN, believes that treaties that encroach on US sovereignty are "not legally binding"; at the same time, Washington's major justification for the Iraq war was that Iraq was in violation of international law. The recent controversy over detainees at Guantanamo Bay has put American compliance with international conventions even further into question. Whether the US can continue to selectively abide to its international commitments, while insisting on strict compliance from other countries, remains to be seen. – YaleGlobal