US threat to wreck treaty system Article pointing out that in order to withdraw from the treaty to create the International Criminal Court, signed by President Clinton in 1998, the US Government is taking the more fundamental step of rejecting the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 'a 1969 pact detailing the obligations of nations to obey other international treaties' ( Guardian ) See also this Reuters report that the decision has made Canada 'sad'
Otto Reich Named on Board to Oversee SOA/WHISC 'Otto Reich has been named to the Board of Visitors at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC), formerly known as the School of the Americas (SOA). The WHISC's charter requires a Board of Visitors to monitor the school, to ensure that the curriculum emphasize "human rights, the rule of law, due process, civilian control of the military, and the role of the military in a democratic society." Reich has a history of aiding coups and known terrorists' ( SOA Watch ) See also this article by Farrukh Saleem and this FT report, both from last week, this Tom Turnipseed commentary from last month, this undiluted propaganda by Robert Novak from Thursday, and this National Security Archive dossier on Reich The War on Terrorism's Gravy Train Article about the private military services provided by Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton, where US Vice President Dick Cheney was CEO and chairman of the executive board until August 2000 ( CorpWatch ) See also this Austin Chronicle article from 2000, and this blog entry from last month LINKs at http://www.hullocentral.demon.co.uk/site/anfin.htm
