Obama pushing war crimes trial for Sudan leader

Washington Times:

President Obama supports implementing the war crimes indictment by the International Criminal Court against Sudanese President Omar Bashir, a strong indication of the tough approach the new administration will take toward Sudan as well as its favorable view of an international body the Bush administration refused to join.

"We support the ICC and its pursuit of those who've perpetrated war crimes. We see no reason to support deferral [of the indictment] at this time," said Ben Chang, a spokesman for Mr. Obama's national security adviser, retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones.

Mr. Obama gave his support for an arrest warrant -- which could be handed down within days -- despite concerns that pursuing charges against Gen. Bashir could provoke Khartoum to retaliate against humanitarian groups and plunge the country into even more bloodshed and chaos.

Top Obama administration officials such as Susan Rice, the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, have long advocated a hard line toward the Bashir regime. Ms. Rice, who worked on peacekeeping issues in the Clinton White House and as assistant secretary of state for African affairs during President Clinton's second term, is said to have been scarred by the U.S. and international failure to prevent the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which nearly 1 million people were killed.

Top regional specialists who have participated in negotiations with Khartoum caution that support for the Bashir arrest warrant would send the Obama administration down a path of confrontation that could further destabilize Sudan and say it isn't clear how authorities would carry out the arrest.

...

The fact is they want carry out the arrest, unless Bashir gets careless with his travel arrangements. There is little doubt that Bashir is a man of few inhibitions when it comes to pursuing his objectives. He is a religious bigot and a racist and an incompetant when it comes to dealing with an insurgency. His idea of counterinsurgency strategy is genocide.

The pursuit of a lawfare remedy for his crimes will only highlight the impotence of the ICC system. Other than that it is unlikely to change much in Sudan.