President Obama’s recent executive order involving INTERPOL and his visit to the ‘Copenhagen’ climate summit have sparked increasing interest into the ideas of internalnational law and how it can apply to the United States; more specifically how the Obama administration envisions how it can apply to the United States. Some critiques on the left would have us believe that international law is irrelevant and that only a sovereign states law really matters. If this was true and internal law is in reality useless, then it would make no sense as to why so many countries devote so much time, money and effort into negotiating new legal regimes and augmenting existing ones. It would make our arguments about the legality of such rules, especially here in the United States, irrelevant. And there would be no need for organizations like the United Nations to exist. The topic that many statists and supporters of international law dodge is how these laws affect a nation’s sovereignty, in particular America.

UN Security Council

International law has begun to change dramatically since 1945 (The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II). The scope of international law was once confined, but today the scope is expansive, far beyond the pursuit of ‘international order’. International law was originally concerned with the regulation of nation states; but now the focus has shifted to regulation of businesses, economies, the environment and even individual citizens.

The United Nations is the only recognized “supra-national” organization, whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace. However, history would show us that the United Nations is not merely interested in international regulation; but more so global regulation. The United Nations once practiced a strategy of self-determination and non-intervention. Today, the UN is very active in influencing global regulation, and by doing so it has overstepped the boundaries that separate international and domestic legal realms; and has influenced the development of rules that regulate how nation states govern within their own territories.

So what does INTERPOL have to do with the UN? Some critiques state that INTERPOL is not a supranational police agency with investigative powers, nor is it an organization sanctioned by an international governing body (such as the United Nations); however  it is widely known that the UN Security Council and the International Court of Justice (the primary judicial organ of the United Nations) have been working very closely with INTERPOL on the fight against terrorist acts by Al-Qaida and the Taliban. This gives many people the impression that INTERPOL is in fact a supranational organization, or at the very least an extension on the UN, and rightfully so because within the last decade they have become synonymous and often indistinguishable.

Many believe that when President Obama enacted his executive order granting INTERPOL full diplomatic immunity; that he opened our nation’s back door to more future international regulation, in affect revoking America’s sovereignty. Based on the history of international governing and policing bodies and President Obama’s enthusiasm to make America an internationally regulated state…the critiques assumptions could be considered well founded. It’s important to note that the concept of granting immunity to foreign nationals in our country is not new; in fact the practice goes back to 1790 when the “Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes against the United States” passed, wherein basic immunity was granted to foreign diplomats. However, the immunity given at that time had major restrictions placed on it, unlike today where those restrictions do not exist.

What does this really mean to America and its citizens? Some critiques see this move as the hidden foundation for an international governing and policing body, much like a “modern day Schutzstaffel”. Whether that is true or not, the perception is there; mainly because of Obama’s desire to have a Civilian National Security Force, and because the Obama administration still refuses to comment on the orders exact purpose.

Obama’s executive order states INTERPOL, unlike American law enforcement agencies, is not subject FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests and their internal files are not subject to United States legal subpoenas. Some media columnists even consider this a contemptible way for our federal government to hide controversial documents from the public and the media. Other internet and blogosphere critiques believe that this is a way for the government to covertly release American military secrets and other practices having to do with prosecuting President G.W. Bush, members of Congress and even members of the American military to foreign organizations like the EU International Criminal Court and regulators  like the United Nations.

Again, the overall take away from this article is this – INTERPOL, an international criminal police organization with strong ties to the anti-American institutions and organizations, is now positioned above the United States Constitution; in a place of sacredness even far above our own criminal police organizations (i.e. FBI, CIA, DIA). No matter how you look at this, the facts speak for themselves; President Obama has purposefully placed our Constitutional rights under international law.

Now is the time for Americans to realize that there is no transparency or accountability with this administration, less than the last or any administration before. We are headed in a dangerous direction as a nation. Americans that are concerned about Obama’s order should contact their Congressional Representative and demand that they overturn the executive order by passing legislation that directly conflicts with it. And if that doesn’t work, Congress can refuse to approve the funding that is needed to enforce the order. If American’s won’t stand up for America, then no one will.