The Great Plague of Unreason

The recent arrest of Radovan Karadžić has piqued my interest in the Balkans and the Seige of Sarajevo. Without digressing too much into that (and my feelings about the "halcyon" 90's and the Clinton administration), I simply want to point out the charges that Karadžić is facing:

• Five counts of crimes against humanity (Article 5 of the Statute - extermination, murder, persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds, persecutions, inhumane acts (forcible transfer));
• Three counts of violations of the laws of war (Article 3 of the Statute - murder, unlawfully inflicting terror upon civilians, taking hostages);
• One count of grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions (Article 2 of the Statute - willful killing).^[10]
• Unlawful transfer of civilians because of religious or national identity.^[11]

Do any of these charges seem applicable to our current administration in our current "war on terror"? How about any of the previous administrations that perpetrated any number of illegal acts? Shouldn't Karadžić be as immune to prosecution as any other wartime leader as his followers are suggesting? Or better yet, shouldn't the generals and politicians who commit, order, or allow these crimes be marched in front of international tribunals?

It would give me great solace to think that the abuses of power and the complete lack of accountability that we see in the current administration are an anomaly, but unfortunately I think that they are merely more flagrant examples of common practices. I think that my friends that tell me my vote counts, that the individual voices are important, that there is the possibility of change and resistance that is not direct action are missing or ignoring fundamental structure of our society. Power perpetuates and protects itself and will not be relinquished without great struggle and more than likely, much blood.

On a slightly lighter note, I am amused that this man who is being indicted for crimes against humanity has been hiding in plain sight as a self-help/new age guru. The plague of unreason is manifest in so many ways...