Watching the news today, you’d be forgiven for wondering what exactly international law is – a near-mythic concept; it is mentioned only to be shouted down, if it’s recalled at all. People know it exists – we’ve read about it, we’ve just never witnessed it in real life. As tempting as it is to blame the new Trump administration for its destruction, American presidents have long laughed at the idea of international law. When asked in 2003 if his Iraq invasion and subsequent policy met the standards of international law, George W. Bush chuckled, “International law? I better call my lawyer; he didn’t bring that up to me.” Barack Obama, the recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize, authorized 563 strikes, largely by drones, during his presidency across three countries, often killing civilians. And it was the Biden administration that threw away the scraps of what tiny symbolic respect remained for the concept of international protocols of war by arming, defending, and providing cover for Israel’s brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing in Gaza. Karim Khan, the beleaguered prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, has said ICC officials faced “threats” from supporters of Israel and Russia and that a senior figure had reminded him that the ICC was “built for Africa and for thugs like Putin,” not for Western countries and their friends. …more