Here’s a trick question: What do Maher Arar and 13 CIA agents have in common? They’re both getting ass-tickled by the glorious new “War on Terror” international regime.
Prosecutors in the southern German city of Munich today obtained warrants for 13 CIA agents they say were involved in the kidnapping of a German citizen, Khaled el Masri.
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The 13 C.I.A. agents have been charged with kidnapping and inflicting bodily harm on Mr. el Masri, who was abducted in the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia in December 2003.
He has charged that he was drugged, beaten and then flown by the C.I.A. to a detention center in Afghanistan. Mr. Masri says he was held there for five months before the American government flew him to Albania and left him there.
I’m tickled by this scenario because ten years ago it would have been entirely unthinkable. While the “West” has always been characterized as realm shifting alliances and agreements, America never openly flaunted her hegemony over the group, although it would occasionally use it as justification for an international incident. Now, things are different. The War on Terror is so serious (at least to those in the White House) that America has entirely abandoned the principle of international cooperation. Sure, the United States will be glad to work with other nations when it suits American security concerns, but this “work” in no way obliges the U.S. to respect that nation’s sovereignty or security. Basically, the international community is expected to play by one set of rules (international law and the doctrine of national sovereignty), while the U.S. is entitled to play by another.
Some may think that this is nothing new, but it in fact marks a fundamental shift. The U.S. has always occupied a “first among equals” position in the international community. Now it cannot even claim that dubious distinction…
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