Letters | US is a defender of justice and due process only when it suits

We have a moral obligation to help the powerless, but no society should ever claim to know where justice lies without even the pretence of due process

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Then US president George W. Bush walks down the hall of the White House before a news conference on March 6, 2003, in which he said the US would push for a UN resolution authorising war if Iraq did not comply with disarmament obligations. The US commenced military action on March 19. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:00am, 14 Mar 2021Updated: 7:00am, 14 Mar 2021

I would like to respond to Mr Lee Strauss’s letter on March 11 where he argued that America, which has the capability to help the powerless and persecuted, is morally obliged to do so (“Don’t let anti-US bias colour picture of America”).

He also argued, rightly, that international relations are not black and white, and he does not want to be part of a society where there’s no due process of law. And this is why his argument falls flat against Mr Alex Lo’s criticism of US unilateralism.

It is true that the society at large has a moral obligation to help the powerless and ensure that justice is served with due process. That is why we have the International Criminal Court and other international courts of law to ensure that due process is followed before alleged oppressors are convicted and punishment is doled out.

American unilateralism is the antithesis of due process. Some imaginary weapons of mass destruction are enough of an excuse to pulverise an entire nation to the ground, destroying the lives of millions of people. Of course we, as human beings, have a moral obligation to serve justice. But anyone or any nation who claims to know where justice lies without even the pretence of due process is playing God.

Huan Liu, Sham Tseng