US restores military training in Namibia, 20 other nations

WASHINGTON – Twenty-one countries that had been denied participation in US military training programmes are now eligible to take part again under a presidential waiver announced by the White House.

All 21 had run afoul of the Bush administration and US law by refusing to sign an agreement with the United States that would exempt Americans from prosecution by the International Criminal Court. The administration has taken a tough line against the ICC since its creation in 2002 out of concern that Americans overseas, including military personnel, diplomats and ordinary citizens, could be subject to politically motivated ICC prosecutions.The following countries are affected by the waiver: Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, Kenya, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Namibia, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Samoa, Serbia, South Africa, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tanzania, Trinidad and Uruguay.There was no waiver for programmes that finance the purchase of US military equipment by these countries or for their eligibility to purchase excess US defence items.The ICC, a United Nations creation, was set up in an attempt to ensure that perpetrators of genocide or crimes against humanity are brought to justice.Scores of countries have gone along with US requests to exempt Americans from ICC prosecutions.Others, however, refused to bend to US pressure, and the result in many countries has been a sharp decline in military ties with the United States.Pentagon officials have told Congress that China has been filling the vacuum created by suspension of training programmes in 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries.General Bantz Craddock, who oversees US military operations in Latin America, said in Senate testimony last March that military members of all ranks in the region are receiving training in China.In addition, he said, more Chinese non-lethal military equipment is showing up in the region.”It’s a growing phenomenon,” he said.Craddock testified that in 2003, a year before the law took effect, the United States trained 771 military personnel from the countries now sanctioned.Nampa-APThe administration has taken a tough line against the ICC since its creation in 2002 out of concern that Americans overseas, including military personnel, diplomats and ordinary citizens, could be subject to politically motivated ICC prosecutions.The following countries are affected by the waiver: Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, Kenya, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Namibia, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Samoa, Serbia, South Africa, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tanzania, Trinidad and Uruguay.There was no waiver for programmes that finance the purchase of US military equipment by these countries or for their eligibility to purchase excess US defence items.The ICC, a United Nations creation, was set up in an attempt to ensure that perpetrators of genocide or crimes against humanity are brought to justice.Scores of countries have gone along with US requests to exempt Americans from ICC prosecutions.Others, however, refused to bend to US pressure, and the result in many countries has been a sharp decline in military ties with the United States.Pentagon officials have told Congress that China has been filling the vacuum created by suspension of training programmes in 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries.General Bantz Craddock, who oversees US military operations in Latin America, said in Senate testimony last March that military members of all ranks in the region are receiving training in China.In addition, he said, more Chinese non-lethal military equipment is showing up in the region.”It’s a growing phenomenon,” he said.Craddock testified that in 2003, a year before the law took effect, the United States trained 771 military personnel from the countries now sanctioned.Nampa-AP