Nikola Drobac – 7/3/05

This page was last updated on July 3, 2005.

A point of international law; Nikola (Nick) Drobac; Beaver County Times; July 3, 2005.

This is the 19^th anti-Bush and/or anti-Republican rant by Mr. Drobac since July 1, 2004.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“These people who support George W. Bush and the war in Iraq cannot have it both ways. If you talk about U.N. resolutions, you must also remember that the United States and Iraq signed the U. N. Charter.

“Chapter 1, Purposes and Principles, Article 2.3 of the U.N. Charter demands that all members settle their international disputes by peaceful means. Going to war is not what is meant by peaceful means.

“Chapter 1, Article 2.4 of the U.N. Charter demands that all members refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.”

[RWC] Partially paraphrasing the UN Charter is cute, but irrelevant in this case. I recognize Mr. Drobac allegedly teaches business and not history, but doesn’t he remember Saddam Hussein’s Iraq started this fight in 1990 and kept it going until Saddam Hussein’s fall in 2003? Because Hussein never fully complied with the ceasefire after the 1991 Gulf War, no treaty was ever signed ending the war. That meant the U.S and other nations were still technically at war with Iraq. What did Mr. Drobac think was the purpose of the Clinton administration patrolling Iraqi skies and attacking certain targets during the 1990s?

“We may love democracy and capitalism (there is a difference) in the United States; however, it is against international law to force our political agenda on the Iraqis.”

[RWC] I agree there’s a difference between democracy and capitalism. Democracy is a political system and capitalism is an economic system. There’s also a difference between democracy and freedom. Democracy doesn’t guarantee freedom, though freedom tends to guarantee representative government.

When Mr. Drobac wrote, “We may love democracy and capitalism,” I can’t be sure he included himself in the “we.” Why would I write such a thing? My primary reason is that Mr. Drobac appears to be a rabid anti-conservative. In general, this group tends to believe in socialism, not capitalism.

“Chapter VII, Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression, Article 39 of the U.N. Charter gives the U.N. Security Council the right to determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression. The U.N. Security Council makes recommendations, or decides what measures are to be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, in an effort to maintain or restore international peace and security.

“In short, unless attacked, no country, including the United States, is permitted to attack a sovereign country without U. N. Security Council approval. It’s a point of international law.

“Like it or not, Bush broke international laws, misled Congress and lied to the country. As a result, to date, more than 1,700 Americans are dead and more than 15,000 are permanently disabled.”

[RWC] Those pesky UN resolutions Mr. Drobac referred to at the beginning of his letter were UN Security Council resolutions granting member nations permission “to use all necessary means” to enforce those resolutions. A list of those UN resolutions is in the Iraq War Resolution approved by Congress on October 11, 2002. Oops, I guess the U.S. didn’t break any international laws after all.

Regarding misleading Congress and lying to the country, what specifically is Mr. Drobac referring to? I suspect he doesn’t want to cite specific examples because they’ve already been shown to be false over and over again.

“Never forget, according to the Bible, we all have a moral obligation to hold Bush accountable.”

[RWC] I admit I’m not a Bible scholar, but this is the first time I heard the Bible referenced President Bush. <g>