Bush Administration Charged with Arrogance as it Withdraws from Growing Number of International Treaties

Interview by Between The Lines' Scott Harris.

Since taking office in January, George W. Bush has pursued a policy of unilateral rejection of a growing number of international treaties and conventions in the areas of environment, arms control and human rights.

His actions include rejecting a treaty creating the international criminal court; withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol on global warming; declaring that the U.S. will soon scrap the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty signed with the Soviet Union in 1972; undermining a United Nations agreement to reduce illegal trafficking in small arms; pulling out of negotiations to enforce provisions of the convention banning biological weapons; and refusing to place before the U.S. Senate the 1996 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the 1993 nuclear weapons reduction accord with Russia.

While the extent of the Bush administration's rejection of international cooperation is a surprise to many observers, this is not exactly a new trend in U.S. foreign policy. During his eight years in the White House, former President Bill Clinton rejected or delayed ratification of a number of multilateral agreements, including the treaty banning land mines and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Matthew Rothschild, editor of the Progressive Magazine, who examines world reaction to the Bush administration's rejection of numerous international treaties(A RealAudio Version of this interview may be found At http://www.btlonline.org).