The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, accusing him of crimes against humanity. The court charged Gadhafi with orchestrating the killing and imprisonment of hundreds of civilians during the early days of the uprising against his regime. The court also ordered the arrest of one of Gadhafi's sons, Saif al-Islam, and his intelligence chief. But the ICC has no police force to make the arrests. Will the warrants make any difference?
No. The war will go on as before: "The Hague-based court can issue all of the warrants and indictments it wants," says Max Fisher at The Atlantic, but it has no hope of making an arrest in this case "as long as Gadhafi clings to power." The court indicted Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir in 2009, and he's still in office. At best, this will serve as "another bargaining chip in any negotiations over ending Libya's civil war," as immunity is an added incentive for Gadhafi to step down.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How will Wall Street react to the Trump-Powell showdown?Today's Big Question 'Market turmoil' seems likely
-
Google ruled a monopoly over ad tech dominanceSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the ruling as a 'landmark victory in the ongoing fight to stop Google from monopolizing the digital public square'
-
El Salvador's CECOT prison becomes Washington's go-to destinationIN THE SPOTLIGHT Republicans and Democrats alike are clamoring for access to the Trump administration's extrajudicial deportation camp — for very different reasons
