It is quite interesting that the International Criminal Courts (ICC) arrest warrant for war crimes committed in Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin was issued almost exactly 20 years after the US invasion of Iraq. That these two milestones came at the same time may be coincidence, but it certainly brings up some interesting questions on what international norms are regarding war crimes and how to hold leaders accountable who preside over committing them.
I am in no way condoning the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine, or drawing false equivalents between Putin, a dictator, and George W. Bush, a term-limited president. However, I do highlight the hypocrisy of the ICC for issuing the arrest warrant for Putin and at no point issuing something similar for Bush or others in his administration. Exact figures are difficult to come by, but there is no doubt that hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died as a direct result of the US invasion and the sectarian violence that ensued between Iraqi factions. To me this is a war crime plain and simple.
The build up to Putin’s Ukraine invasion and the US invasion of Iraq are eerily similar, mainly because the narratives told to the domestic population shift. I remember well the lead into the US invasion of Iraq. To be sure, it was a time of paranoia and nationalism in the US following the attacks on 9/11. First, the reason for the invasion was because Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) and would use them soon. When WMDs were not found in large numbers the narrative morphed into vague connections between Saddam and the 9/11 attacks. Finally, Bush framed the US mission as the need to democratize Iraq and the wider Middle East. In hindsight none of these reasons seem either true, convincing, or worth the damage caused.
America has amnesia when it comes to these types of events. Many of the US politicians who supported the Iraq invasion are now aghast at how Russia could dare invade Ukraine.
To bring my point back around, if the ICC truly wants to stand up for human rights and convict war criminals then it must issue its warrants more objectively, regardless of who the leaders may be. Since neither Russia or the US are signatories to the ICC, and there is little to no chance the leader of large powerful countries would be arrested, the ICC should issue its warrants for leaders like Putin and Bush if for no other reason than to make a point: no leader is above being held to account for war crimes. If the ICC wants to be credible it must consider no county exceptional and at the same time consider all of them exceptional.
