Senator Vitter Leads Assault On UN's Sea Treaty
By Cliff Kincaid
October 1, 2007
Page 2 of 4
This wasn't the only exchange in which Vitter caught Bush Administration officials saying things that were untrue. He caught them in evasions and obfuscations over the claim that U.S. military and intelligence activities on the high seas cannot be restricted by the treaty. U.S. officials are making that claim in a declaration in the Senate resolution of ratification. It is one of 24 declarations or understandings being made by the U.S. for a treaty that administration witnesses repeatedly claimed would provide "legal certainty" about what nations can and cannot do on the high seas.
If the treaty is so definitive and clear, then why is there a need for 24 declarations and understandings? To make matters worse, these declarations and understandings have no legal validity under the treaty.
DoD Official Admits Error
Here's some of the exchange on this point:
Vitter: "Who decides what is and what is not a military activity?"
Negroponte: "We will decide that. We consider that within our sovereign prerogative."
Vitter: "Where does the treaty say that we decide that and an arbitral body does not decide that?"
Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England: "My understanding - and I'll ask my lawyer behind me - that that's in the treaty that we make that determination and that's not subject to review by anyone else."
Vitter: "It's not in the treaty because I point to Article 298 1b where it simply says disputes concerning military activities are not subject to dispute resolution. But it doesn't say who decides what is and what is not a military activity."
England: "You're right."
Once again, an administration witness had been caught saying something that was not true.
When Vitter asked whether the U.S. considered intelligence activities to be military activities, England said he thought so but quickly motioned for his lawyer to come forward. But his lawyer didn't seem to be in any rush to come to the microphone. Bellinger piped in that it would be "up to us." Vitter countered that other signatories to the treaty will disagree, leading to inevitable disputes about what the U.S. could do.
Exhibiting an arrogant streak, Bellinger told Senator Bob Corker that the U.S. had "effective lawyers" and were likely to win most of the disputes. He said each side picked arbitrators in a dispute but neglected to mention that the U.N. Secretary-General can pick some, too. Most of the members of the U.N. Sea Treaty organization, like members of the U.N. itself, come from the anti-American bloc. Despite Bellinger's confidence in the ability of the legal profession, it is political power and anti-Americanism that will decide these outcomes. That is why, except on the U.N. Security Council, where the U.S. has a veto, U.N. decisions almost always go against America and our economic and security interests.
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