BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Belgium's highest court dismissed war crimes complaints Wednesday against former [wishful thinking, perhaps? ed.] U.S. President George W. Bush, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, ruling the country no longer has a legal basis to charge them.

The decision was expected to improve Belgium's diplomatic relations with the United States and Israel, which hit their lowest points in decades over the complaints. The cases were based on a Belgian universal jurisdiction law allowing for foreigners to file genocide and war crimes complaints against foreign leaders.

Under international pressure, Parliament amended the 1993 law in August to require that human rights complaints could only be filed if the victim or suspect was a Belgian citizen or long-term resident at the time of the alleged crime. Parliament also guaranteed diplomatic immunity for world leaders and other government officials visiting the country.

The changes brought Belgian law in line with the rest of Western Europe while removing a source of diplomatic friction.

The Bush administration had threatened to move NATO headquarters out of Belgium over the country's use of the law to file complaints against U.S. and other foreign leaders.

"As long as complaints based on the universal jurisdiction law were not thrown out, we cannot resume (high level) official contacts with the United States," Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said Wednesday.

The complaints alleging war crimes against Bush, Powell, and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney were filed on behalf of the families of seven Iraqis killed or injured during the 1991 Gulf War.

Lawyers filed a complaint against Sharon alleging he was responsible for a 1982 massacre of Palestinians by a Lebanese Christian militia in the Sabra and Chatilla refugee camps in Lebanon. At the time, Sharon was Israel's defense minister. He became prime minister in 2001.

An Israeli inquiry found Sharon indirectly responsible and forced him to resign as defense minister in 1983.

"We are satisfied with the decision," Israeli embassy spokesman Laurent Reichman said of the court ruling. "Now, both Belgium and Israel are going to work hard again to have the same friendly relations we had before."

...you don't get your wish.

imc'ers will now claim this was a result of bullying by the US, Israel, and somehow manage to work Zionists into it as well.

Anything but an admission that the case was groundless to begin with.

Belgium is the French Poodle of Europe and doesn't warrant much attention to begin with.

That said, what happened in Belgium is EXACTLY why the US should never agree to participating in an international court that would no doubt be brimming with european leftists frothing at the bit to indict top US officials for all manner of crime. It would immediately be used a a tool against us. This has already happened in the UN, which is exactly why we should get out of the UN and let FRANCE pay for it.

...and the US out of the UN.

Let's start our own international mutual benefit organization, along with the 66 members of the coalition that stood up the the thugs, terrorists, and their appeasers at the UN, led by France desperately trying to prove she's relevant.

We could call it "The United Nations...With Balls".

I forget exactly why Belgium scrapped its war crimes legstration, but I believe that the Belgian MP that introduced the law, was charged under his own law, because as minster of defence a few years back he sold, what I think was mustard gas, or WMD crap you guys can't stop talking about to some dictator. So therefor was charged under his own law. Thats why Belgium doesn't have the "legal basis" to charge people. Who says God doesnt have a sense of hummor. Serves them right. Now I am just waiting for Arafat to be killed by his own nobel peace prize and I can die a happy man.

...Means of Arafat's Journey to Paradise:

10. Meets with suicide-bombers-in-training. One pushes wrong button.

9. Smothered with kisses by crazy ISM terrorist-lover.

8. Gets mistaken for large fish and is filleted, lightly grilled, and served with butter sauce and a nice white wine.

7. Rubbed out by Saudi financiers for not killing enough Jews for all the money they've given him.

6. Gets on wrong bus.

5. Accidentally catches on fire burning American flag.

4. Attempts to go through IDF checkpoint in drag...without shaving beard first.

3. Takes nap in shade; "apartheid" wall built on top of him.

2. Reveals his real name to followers: Moishe Abramovitz.

And the Top Means of Arafat's Journey to Paradise:

1. His love of Nathan's Hot Dogs is discovered.

about fucking BELGIUM! They weren't such lefty darlings when they were dismembering people in the Congo, were they?

Your list, sir is sublime... pure genius. Thank You!

Maybe a swiss banker will knock him off because he wants to keep the "Arafat millions" that he has leached out of his country for the last few decades.

But I'm suprised it hasn't drawn some whining, and then a similar list for Sharon...which, of course, wouldn't be funny at all.

Like the blond who, offended by a blonde joke, immdediately tells the same joke using "brunette" instead.