Noam Chomsky explained to us long ago how those in powerful positions reach those positions after a long process of ideological conditioning and careful selection via the education system. Only the very best – those most obedient to power – make it to the top. They are there to keep the system of power running smoothly.
But there is a fallback plan for when things go wrong, as they occasionally do. That happens when someone in high office steps out of line and acts in ways that threaten the power elite – when they serve the interests of humanity rather the interests of power. Then something must be done.
Such individuals are invariably dragged very publicly through the mud – as a warning to others in powerful positions to keep their consciences very much in check.
That is the context for understanding the latest "unspecified allegations of misconduct" against Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, from someone inside his office.
Khan has been requesting arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister Yoav Gallant. Khan had little choice legally: both are clearly war criminals for using starvation as a weapon of war.
What is astonishing is that the judges who need to approve the arrest warrants have done nothing for six months, despite the overwhelming evidence and the obvious urgency of his request.
If you have been wondering why they have been dragging their feet for so long, well now you know. They do not want the same fate befalling them as is befalling Khan.
The power elite that rule over us have an infinite numbers of ways of destroying any individual who poses a threat to their interests. Just look at the way they locked away Julian Assange for years on non-existent "espionage" charges.
Khan's struggles – he's being actively smeared as an antisemite too by Israel – are another teaching moment for those not already so beaten down by the system that it would never occur to them to do the right thing anyway.
The lesson they are meant to absorb is: Don't take on power – because power will destroy you.
