ANATOMY OF A NON-STORY :

U.S. Backs Down From Immunity Demand (Associated Press, 7/10/02)

The new draft U.S. resolution asks the court for a 12-month exemption from investigation or prosecution of peacekeepers and "expresses the intention to renew the request ... for further 12 month periods for as long as may be necessary."

Let's try a brief thought experiment : suppose you have a brother in law who thinks he deserves special treatment and he asks you for ten thousand dollars a year for the rest of his life. You're pretty outraged and you complain to your wife (his sister), who tells you it's okey just to refuse the request. The next day he says : okay, forget that, give me ten thousand now and I'll come back every year to ask for the next ten thousand.

What do you say to your wife? :

(a) Hey, your brother folded like a house of cards. All we have to do is pay him off now and the rest of the argument gets pushed back to next year.

or

(b) Listen to what that snake tried pulling now.

Please note, for purposes of this admittedly imperfect analogy, America is the snake.

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 11, 2002 4:13 PM