The "New USA" in action : U.S. Suspends Military Aid to 50 Countries

[yehudi]

Why ? These countries refuse to grant immunity to the US… so they are punished. Very revealing of the way the USA are imposing their rule over weakest countries in the wake of the invasion of Iraq.




Tue July 1, 2003 11:22 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday suspended military assistance to nearly 50 countries, including Colombia and six nations seeking NATO membership, because they have supported the International Criminal Court and failed to exempt Americans from possible prosecution.

(..)

Based on the information initially available to Reuters, the countries subject to the suspension of military aid are:

Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominica, Ecuador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Namibia, Nauru, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela and Zambia.

The countries which received presidential waivers are:

Albania, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Bosnia, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, East Timor, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Honduras, Macedonia, Mauritius, Mongolia, Nigeria, Panama, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tajikistan and Uganda.

http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml

[Mil]

I never knew that Finland and especially Liechtenstein get American military aid. Interesting - any more info on this?

Apparently Liechtenstein has an army.... go figure.

And how about that pasky San Marino!!!!!

[minusthejihad]

Originally posted by yehudi
Why ? These countries refuse to grant immunity to the US… so they are punished. Very revealing of the way the USA are imposing their rule over weakest countries in the wake of the invasion of Iraq.




Tue July 1, 2003 11:22 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday suspended military assistance to nearly 50 countries, including Colombia and six nations seeking NATO membership, because they have supported the International Criminal Court and failed to exempt Americans from possible prosecution.

(..)

Based on the information initially available to Reuters, the countries subject to the suspension of military aid are:

Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominica, Ecuador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Namibia, Nauru, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela and Zambia.

The countries which received presidential waivers are:

Albania, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Bosnia, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, East Timor, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Honduras, Macedonia, Mauritius, Mongolia, Nigeria, Panama, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tajikistan and Uganda.

http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml

Funny, I didn't hear you praise the US for giving them Military Aid at all?

Guess that means the US was doing them a favor by giving them military aid in the first place. Usually when someone doesn't repay my favor, I stop scratching their back as well.

[elke]

Oh, pipe down!

Look at that list - just look at it! Switzerland? Sweden? Austria? Why should US do any favors for them, if they are not ready to return one? Perfectly capable of holding out a hand for a freebie, but when it comes time to return a favor - off they go, full of righteous anger!

Who the heck do they think they are? :rolleyes:

[Mediocrates]

Link's busted


Isn't this what you WANT us to do, yud? Stop being the imperial bully?


by the by did you know that the US is pulling back from the Korean DMZ and the RoK discovered it would take another 50% of their total defense budget to backfill it. Probably won't happen.

[yehudi]

Originally posted by Mediocrates
Link's busted Sorry I thought Reuters would have been more stable...
But since I posted the breaking news there have been other reactions and comments.


Here is a quick compilation of these for you.

I tried to go as much 'around the world' as possible.









http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/thu/jul3w38.htm
Greece raps Macedonia over immunity for US
Borneo Bulletin, Brunei

ATHENS (AFP) - Greece complained against neighbouring Macedonia on Wednesday for signing a bilateral agreement with the United States to give US citizens immunity from war crimes trials before the International Criminal Court.
Macedonia is a potential candidate of the European Union, which has rejected the US demand.

On Tuesday, the United States suspended US$47 million (40 million euros) in military aid to countries that refused to sign waivers.

"All countries are free to sign bilateral agreements with the United States," said the spokesman for the Greek foreign ministry, Panos Beglitis, but as a country close to the European Union, Macedonia "should have taken into account the policy of the Union." (…)




http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20030702T230000-0500_45899_OBS_HEADS_WARN_OF_THREATS_TO_POLITICAL_ SOVEREIGNTY.asp
Heads warn of threats to political sovereignty
Jamaica Observer, Jamaica

MONTEGO BAY -- Warnings of threats to the political sovereignty of Caribbean nations came from two Caricom prime ministers last night at the ceremonial opening of the four-day 24th summit of leaders of the 15-member Community.
(…)
Patterson declared, during his 35-minute address, that the summit was taking place amid "critical challenges" facing small developing states like those of the Caribbean with the emergence of a "unipolar force".

Hard won rights to political sovereignty, he said, were now under serious threats in a world that has become "unfriendly to multilateralism".

In echoing similar sentiments in his 15-minute address, Prime Minister Musa spoke of the "unilateral positions" being adopted at the international level that were seriously undermining the sovereignty and development of states in the Caribbean region.
(..)





Sofia's Envoy: Frozen US Military Aid Ammounts to USD 10.5 M
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=23870
Politics: 2 July 2003, Wednesday.


Frozen US military aid to Bulgaria ammounts to some USD 10.5 M, Bulgarian Ambassador to the US Elena Poptodorova said Wednesday.

"I hope the military aid would be restored May 2004 when Bulgaria becomes a full NATO member", Poptodorova said. She added that negotiations with the US National Security Council continued and she hoped for some progress over the upcoming weeks.

So far, the United States showed unwillingness to discuss compromise options, the ambassador pointed out.
(…)
And a post, probably from a Bulgarian on a comment
_______________________
Where are all those "US" (?) readers of this forum who weeks ago were saying : "Hey, Great Bulgaria, tnx for your support ! We will remember you after the war ! You will be rewarded for your support !"

Eto vi nagradata ... ;o((

Amerikansta mu rabota...

*sigh*







SA to lose R56m in military aid
http://iafrica.com/news/sa/250362.htm
IAfrica South African News


A United States move to suspend military aid to South Africa will mean an annual loss of $7.6-million (about R56.8-million) in such assistance, the military said on Wednesday.

Defence Ministry spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi said this was the figure for the current year as well as the coming one.

"So, that will be more or less our annual loss," he told Sapa in Pretoria.

The US has suspended military aid to South Africa because it will not give Americans immunity from prosecution by the new International Criminal Court in The Hague.




SA makes light of US's military aid suspension
http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=129&fArticleId=181638
The Star, Africa

The SA government has downplayed Washington's suspension of R50-million in military aid to Pretoria ahead of a landmark visit by President George W Bush next week.

Analysts say the move is "tantamount to military sanctions" and adds to the list of contentious issues between President Thabo Mbeki and the US leader
(..)







http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters07-02-101919.asp?reg=EUROPE
MSNBC
BALTIC BRUSH-OFF
(…)
Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga told reporters she did not regard the halt in U.S. military aid as a snub: ''There is no place for personal insults in international relations.''
The three Baltic states, which won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, are gearing up for EU membership in 2004.
A government source in Estonia, which this fiscal year has already received most of its $6.5 million in U.S. military aid, said Estonia would not sign the agreement with the United States ''before EU guidelines allow us to do so.''

Vilnius would not back down either, Lithuanian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Violeta Matulaite said. ''We hope to convince the United States to include Lithuania on the list of countries for whom an exception has been made. There are good arguments for that, like our active support in Iraq and also our entry into NATO (in 2004),'' she said.
Lithuania's total U.S. military aid for 2003 involved equipment worth $12 million, which would still be delivered.

Croatia and Serbia-Montenegro, both EU hopefuls, have so far refused to sign the deal and reacted calmly to the aid cutoff.

Under U.S. pressure and often against popular will, Serbia and Croatia have extradited their own citizens to the U.N. war crimes tribunal at The Hague. They question how pledging immunity for Americans can be justified to their people.
__________________________________________





http://www.rnw.nl/hotspots/html/icc030702.html
Washington´s war on the ICC

The United States has ploughed millions of dollars into Colombia to help with the war on drugs and the fight against leftist guerrillas. But now Washington is cutting that military aid - because of a dispute about the new International Criminal Court (ICC) here in the Netherlands. Unlike some other nations, Colombia hasn't agreed to exempt US nationals from extradition to the court
(…)




Feel free to criticize/comment/add information...

.

[humus_sapiens]

Whatever the US does abroad, unhappy Y. complains on IsraelForum. If we bring in the troops, we are imperialist power, if we bring them home... well, see above. I guess, stupid America should put our troops under brave French command to ease up his frustration.

[Northlander]

I have to agree to the americans on this. Why complain that they deal in arms and then complain that they dont?

I dont know about half the list of those countries but in the example of Sweden and Finland its not aid. Its simple trade. We pay, mainly for military components, and USA delivers. Its their choice if they want to sell or not as long as not standing contracts are broken which Im pretty sure they wont be. No one forced us to buy from US in the first place. It goes both ways, next time all these countries will think twice before buying again. If USA can afford losing trade partners its their choice. They can sell to others and we can buy from others. As it should be. We cant expect USA to trade with us as some sort of charity. Also I think cash will speak its language and trade will continue soon enough anyway. This is probably more of a political statement, surely not unexpected for anyone involved.

I too do think that USA are wrong in this ICC immunity issue and threats of withdrawing humanitarian aid to developing countries would be wrong. That means that the aid in the first place was given to gain political support which it really shouldnt. Stopped food deliveries to starving populations for example wouldnt be justified which Im sure many americans would agree to. This I dont think qualifies at all.

[Northlander]

With elke I also agree. Shouldnt take freebies if not ready to return. But you are wrong in this "who do they think they are".

Actually its no anger towards america in Swedish government when it comes to this. I just heard our stateminister commenting on american behavior in several post-war issues. He basically said the same as you guys about what comes around goes around and that they were ready for and expected USA to retaliate in one way or the other. He pointed out it was no unusual thing in diplomatic relations and shouldnt be exaggerated. We opposed and expect USA to oppose in return.
It has happened hundreds of times before, things always gets back to normal. In our governments case they surely calculated the risks and made their choice. But they are not complaining now, more than the usual diplomatic complaints that of course are expected. He pointed out btw that we wont excuse our stance in the Iraqi conflict regardless and that he has regular contact with american officials and that he was sure they didnt expect it to happen either. Neverthless USA will have to show their dislike. Nothing strange.

You also forget that most countries didnt oppose a war. They opposed a war before the inspectors were finished. Dont exaggerate our "betrayal". Since you claimed the inspectors were incompetent one has to wonder what you call your own inspectors in Iraq now. Our stance and basically all other countries as well surely hasnt changed just because you won the war, we all knew you would and most people even got the time right in how long it would take. I personally expected more casulaties but apart from that nothing has happened that werent expected by most here including not finding any WMDs.

No one whines and no one applause you. We simply feel we were right in all this and you were wrong. I think you exaggerate the result of the war somewhat. At least for EU. Right now we have more important internal european issues than anything concerning the USA. Same for you I imagine closer to the elections.

[L@mplighterM]

You have to stop and wonder why a dinky country like San Marino received military aid from the US in the first place. It’s a damned joke if you ask me I visited the country last century and all that was there were mountains and more mountains. The country is landlocked, bordered by Italy and the only thing nice that they had there were postage stamps. I had my first glass of goat’s milk there(actually I only had a sip) and I can still taste it. Yuck!!!!

I if understand the figures correctly San Marino received $14,424.81 per person from the US based on the amount listed in the CIA World Factbook 2002.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/eco_bud_exp_cap

Oh by the way Guinea has the wettest capital on Earth with 12.3 feet of rain a year.

I’m wondering if a family of 4 would receive $ 57,000.00 tax free US dollars every year?

No wonder the Palestinians wants their own state with all that money at stake.

I don’t think that the US is the only country in the world that forks over foreign aid to countries like San Marino.

[takeo]

I'm sure the Colombian leftist guerilla will be delighted by this decision! Way to go George!!! (however i don't think they will sign either once they took over the government in Bogota...)

it's all really a pretty sad theatre... the most hilarious was the yugoslavian situation... The US presses the yugoslavian government to cooperate with the international tribunal when its own citizens are involved, and to end cooperation with the international tribunal when American citizens are involved, it doesn't really improve the image of the US you know, nor its credibility...

all this also has the smell of blackmail, especially in the case of poor thirth world countries who have to rely on international aid.

anyway i would rather prefere to abolish international justice than to have a "justice" where some countries are above the law... whenever the us succeed in their efforts Russia, china, europe, etc. will demand the same and the only one who will be prosecuted will be citizens of poor small thirthworld countries.

[yehudi]

Originally posted by Northlander
I have to agree to the americans on this. Why complain that they deal in arms and then complain that they dont? I'm not so sure what is behind "military aid" is just distributing free weapons, Northlander.

Some military aid is indeed useful to help a country's governement to remain in control..... for example I'm thinking about the situation in the Solomon Islands now, which could bring Australia to intervene :"a host of warlords and bandits are the only effective authority over large tracts of this scattered and socially fragmented state"
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/edit/archives/2003/07/08/2003058555

in such a situation military aid can very be positive and useful

.

[CrypticalPuzzle]

Originally posted by yehudi
I'm not so sure what is behind "military aid" is just distributing free weapons, Northlander.

Some military aid is indeed useful to help a country's governement to remain in control..... for example I'm thinking about the situation in the Solomon Islands now, which could bring Australia to intervene :"a host of warlords and bandits are the only effective authority over large tracts of this scattered and socially fragmented state"
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/edit/archives/2003/07/08/2003058555

in such a situation military aid can very be positive and useful

.

In the case of Switzerland it is definately not the distribution of free weapons. Our government bought some FA18 planes from the US which were quite expensive.

The reason why Switzerland is on the list is due to the fact that we did not allow the US forces to fly over Switzerland for the invasion of Iraq. We only allowed them to use our airspace for flying back the wounded soldiers.