WHY THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION IS INCREASINGLY A DISAPPOINTMENT:

Remarkably, the international section of the ABA didn’t see any reason to rush to condemn the idea of European courts trying American servicemen and women based on legal theories that would make every errant tank round a war crime. They asked that the resolution be delayed for more consideration.

You might have thought the individual rights and criminal defense sections would have worried about political justice in hostile jurisdictions (if you thought the Washington snipers faced bad pretrial publicity, well, you should have seen what European papers said about our armed forces). You’d have thought they’d be concerned about the idea that our soldiers would be tried as criminals for act that aren’t even crimes under US law — use of depleted uranium shells, say, or dropping cluster bombs on troops. You might have thought they’d be concerned about things like a lack of crossexamination or the “inquisitorial” system of justice our GIs would face.

And, predictably, you’d be wrong. Those sections fell into line, urging that the resolution be delayed. They had some important resolutions of their own, mainly designed to make sure that al-Qaeda members get a full measure of due process. Due process for American soldiers just wasn’t on the agenda. Maybe later, they said, but first things first.

I’m deeply disappointed with the ABA, which more and more seems to be doing its best to live up to the worst caricatures offered by its critics.