Reading my blog, you might get the impression that I am anti-american. What a wonderful term, abused right up there with WMD and terrorism, the term anti-american is used by people in Washington to describe and discredit anyone who dares to voice an opinion out of step with the administration.

I am not anti-american however, and I want to praise the strength with which the Bush administration supported the Middle East ‘road-map’ to peace. Today Israeli forces pulled out of Betlehem! This is a major step towards a withdrawal of Israelies from territories under the Palestinian Authority and thus a major step towards peace between two countries. My hat is off today for Colin Powel, Condolezza Rice, and even Dubya himself.

Unfortunatelly I cannot end this on such an optimistic note. The fact that I am not a hard-headed anti-american doesn’t make me incapable of criticizing the Bush administration for its mistakes. And what I heard today is hair-raising. We all know that the administration does not support the International Criminal Court, but today it issued a statement saying that it will not give any military aid to countries which did not sign an exemption bill, which would exclude american citizens from prosecution by the ICC in the country. 5 countries in the EU accesion group would be effected and even more so Columbia, which normally recieves aid from the US.

The long-term importance of the ICC and the International Court of Justice cannot be overestimated in our global world. It is shortsighted, foolish and egotistic(imperialistic) of powerful countries not to recognize a need for international institutions.

In any case, keep up the good work America, but stop being such ass-holes when it comes to other issues!