The deportation of Slobodan Milosevic to the International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague last week was hailed as a triumph for the rule of law. "A momentous event for international justice," said David Scheffer, former U.S. ambassador-at-large for war-crimes issues. "An affirmation of the importance of international justice," opined the New York Times.
It is nothing of the sort. Milosevic's deportation is testimony not to the power of international law but to the power of the U.S. The indictment that the Hague tribunal issued two years ago would be a dead letter today--and "international justice" an empty phrase--were it not for...