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Hello? Is There Anybody Out There? — Why Now?
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Hello? Is There Anybody Out There?

McClatchy has finished its five part series: Guantanamo: Beyond the Law, explaining how badly the Hedgemony has messed up the search for terror suspects and the lawless tactics they have employed in their monumental failure.

Added to that mix is the recent report by Major General Antonio Taguba, USA (retired), who probed Abu Ghraib, saying Bush officials committed war crimes:

“After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes,” Taguba wrote. “The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account.”

No General, they won’t because Nancy Pelosi has other priorities than holding criminals responsible for their actions. They will be pardoned by the criminal in chief, and find themselves hiding from the International Criminal Court for the rest of their lives.

What people don’t understand is that the ICC doesn’t get involved unless a nation shows itself unwilling or unable to deal with war crimes on its own. Well, the US has joined that list of rogue nations.

7 comments

1 hipparchia { 06.19.08 at 12:12 am }

it’s going to take me a while to read through the mcclatchy series. thanks for pointing it out.

scary thought, that i live in a rogue nation.

2 Steve Bates { 06.19.08 at 1:55 am }

“scary thought, that i live in a rogue nation.” – hipparchia

A while back, I ran across a troll comment in which the author ranted on and on about how the U.S. should respond to a “rouge nation” [sic]. I don’t know if the reference was to red states, or Communist countries, or a nation whose citizens used a lot of makeup. I was so amused I neglected to correct the troll’s spelling.

Bryan, thanks for the ref; I’ll try to read the series, if it doesn’t make me late with my current library books. 🙂

3 Michael { 06.19.08 at 5:00 am }

At least they won’t be doing much traveling after January 20. I’m not sure there’s a statute of limitations, and Nazi hunters may be interested in helping them be brought to justice for the rest of their lives as well.

4 JimD { 06.19.08 at 9:46 am }

I truly don’t understand. How can we teach history to our children and ignore this. Who arrests a President?

5 Bryan { 06.19.08 at 12:18 pm }

Easy question first – the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives may arrest anyone at any time when authorized by an appropriate resolution. The power of impeachment is absolute.

The US signed the treaties and conventions; torture is illegal under separate US laws; unlawful imprisonment and kidnapping are illegal under US law; there are clear and know procedures for dealing with prisoners of war – this isn’t even close or a “judgment call”: what was done was illegal under US and international law.

6 Kryten42 { 06.20.08 at 3:37 am }

Yep.

I read the McClatchy report. It’s not too bad as far as it goes. However, considering how hampered McClatchy was in getting the facts from US sources, I think McClatchy did quite well. I suspect McClatchy was being a little conservative in the end. It’s definitely much worse.

7 Bryan { 06.20.08 at 12:40 pm }

They are the only media in the US really working on this, so they did well to get anything. Before the buyout they were Knight-Ridder and the only news organization that raised real questions about the justification for a war in Iraq. As a result, they have been cut off from many official sources, as the sources don’t like reporters who call them liars to their face.

Their stuff is almost all from outside the government, or disgruntled insiders who could be fired for talking to them.