Reply #20: Sorry to be a wet blanket, BUT..... [View All]

[Jim Lane]

It's just not accurate to say that "Germany is filing a lawsuit." No officer of the German government has taken any action with respect to Rummy and his co-conspirators. What's happened is that several Abu Ghraib and Gitmo victims have gone forum-shopping and decided that maybe they can get justice in Germany. (The two sites that are logical based on the places where the crimes were committed -- Iraq and the U.S. -- are obviously hopeless.)

As Freedom_from_Chains noted (post #16), there was a similar suit in Germany in 2004. It died when the prosecutor declined to pursue it.

The linked article explains why these plaintiffs hope they'll have better luck. Maybe they will and maybe they won't, but at this point I'd have to say the odds are against them.