TIME Exclusive: War Crimes Charges Sought Against Rumsfeld And Others

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1557842,00.html

A lawsuit in Germany will seek a criminal prosecution of the former Defense Secretary and other U.S. officials for their alleged role in abuses at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo
By ADAM ZAGORIN
SUBSCRIBE TO TIMEPRINTE-MAILMORE BY AUTHORCover: The Abu Ghraib Scandal
Background: Behind Rumsfeld's Fall
World: Impact of Rumsfeld's Departure in Iraq

Posted Friday, Nov. 10, 2006
Just days after his resignation, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is about to face more repercussions for his involvement in the troubled wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. New legal documents, to be filed next week with Germany's top prosecutor, will seek a criminal investigation and prosecution of Rumsfeld, along with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former CIA director George Tenet and other senior U.S. civilian and military officers, for their alleged roles in abuses committed at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The plaintiffs in the case include 11 Iraqis who were prisoners at Abu Ghraib, as well as Mohammad al-Qahtani, a Saudi held at Guantanamo, whom the U.S. has identified as the so-called "20th hijacker" and a would-be participant in the 9/11 hijackings. As TIME first reported in June 2005, Qahtani underwent a "special interrogation plan," personally approved by Rumsfeld, which the U.S. says produced valuable intelligence. But to obtain it, according to the log of his interrogation and government reports, Qahtani was subjected to forced nudity, sexual humiliation, religious humiliation, prolonged stress positions, sleep deprivation and other controversial interrogation techniques.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs say that one of the witnesses who will testify on their behalf is former Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, the one-time commander of all U.S. military prisons in Iraq. Karpinski — who the lawyers say will be in Germany next week to publicly address her accusations in the case — has issued a written statement to accompany the legal filing, which says, in part: "It was clear the knowledge and responsibility goes all the way to the top of the chain of command to the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld ."

A spokesperson for the Pentagon told TIME there would be no comment since the case has not yet been filed.

Along with Rumsfeld, Gonzales and Tenet, the other defendants in the case are Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen Cambone; former assistant attorney general Jay Bybee; former deputy assisant attorney general John Yoo; General Counsel for the Department of Defense William James Haynes II; and David S. Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff. Senior military officers named in the filing are General Ricardo Sanchez, the former top Army official in Iraq; Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the former commander of Guantanamo; senior Iraq commander, Major General Walter Wojdakowski; and Col. Thomas Pappas, the one-time head of military intelligence at Abu Ghraib.

[Catherine Vincent]

1. Republicans....brace yourselves!

n/t

[acmavm]

2. Germany now will show us what they learned from the

Nuremberg trials.

[90-percent]

3. compassion

I hope they allow Rummy to bite down hard on his cyanide capsule instead of hanging him. If it's good enuf for Herman Goering, it's good enuf for Donnie.

-85% Jimmy

[ClayZ]

15. Yup! Loving Kindness after all!

I feel like I am floating on a cloud!

WHOOO HOOOOOO!!!! ! !

[Generator]

4. It pisses me off this is never discussed on TV

Except Democracy Now. Yeah, Rummy is not just incompetent but a war criminal. Nothing to discuss about that heh?

[NNN0LHI]

7. MSNBC reported this a few minutes ago n/t

[Generator]

18. Is that where you heard it?

Because first I saw it on DU of course, then I saw it on Democracy Now, and boy oh boy would I like it to be discussed by a panel on cable. That would be SO interesting.

[Xenotime]

5. Cindy Sheehan should join in

[Vox Acerbus]

6. Yippee! My rec. made it 5...

This def. deserves the front page.

[longship]

8. The cheap sweater is unravelling.

I've used this metaphor before here. But the information in the original post really shows the extent to which it's an entirely appropriate one.

In the next few weeks, we are going to witness a most incredible show. The Republicans did not just lose an election; they lost *everything*. What's going to happen next is going to astound the country, and the world. With the Democrats in complete power in January, people are finally feeling comfortable taking on ChimpCo without any fear of retribution.

Events are going to overtake ChimpCo and run them right over. It isn't going to be a pretty sight, but the country will be a better place for it. The world, too.

We came within a fraction of an inch of totalitarianism, but our system of government has again shown its resiliency. The Constitution still works, even after over 200 years.

Let the investigations and trials begin.

[Jack Rabbit]

20. I like the metaphor.

That's how overarching conspiracies come apart, isn't it?

[FatDave]

42. A very good prediction I think

I think the part about people no longer fearing retribution is dead on. Let the floodgates open.

[cassiepriam]

9. Maybe they will all be in prison before we can begin impeachment hearings.

[gordianot]

10. I wonder how it became a Time exclusive. Why Rummy really resigned?

[louis-t]

11. B-b-b-b-u-t Tom Friedman says he ate lemon chicken with the inmates at Gitmo

and they live better than inmates in our prisons, and they get to have their Korans, and they get to pray 5 times a day, and every one of them threatens Americans with every breath they take and......

[Horse with no Name]

12. Karpinski is a hero

She will not live to testify.
Mark my words.

[Recursion]

13. I suspected throwing Karpinski under the bus would haunt them in the end

This isn't going to be pretty...

[acmejack]

14. They made Karpinski the fallguy.

She was the only senior officer that gets screwed and she isn't even allowed into the area where Miller's boys were doing all that stuff! Go get them Janis! A new era of women kicking ass everywhere is about to happen. Think Sybil sending Hastert to jail...

[Imagevision]

40. Karpinski gave testimony about Rumsfeld last week, just a matter of time...

[azurnoir]

16. Were is Ms Karpinski right now?

If she is in the US or US held territory she will not make it to Germany. She will either be put on a no-fly list or other wise detained, no not rendered they will not be that obvious but delayed(no puns)

[Rambis]

17. Burn baby burn disco inferno, burn baby burn, burn that mutha down

:nuke:
Cheers!

[Jack Rabbit]

19. Let's hope General Karpinski doesn't disappear this week

The war crimes charges ought to go higher than Rumsfeld.

[teryang]

34. Her loved ones will be in jeopardy as well

they might hit a telephone pole, get beheaded by fake terrorists, get mugged to death "in a bad neighborhood," take a mysterious dive off a bridge, jump into a volcano, or just decide to suicide.

Of course in extreme cases, the men in black just break into your home and execute all family members and then suicide the principal.

[DesertRat]

21. Can someone explain what the next step is please?

I mentioned this story to someone who told me that the U.S. won't extradite Rummy, so as long as he stays in the U.S., nothing will happen. Is this correct?

[chill_wind]

25. IANAL, but that sounds about right to me. nt

[The Doctor.]

35. Then net result is that none of them will be able to

travel outside the US without the possibility of facing subpoena.

I would love for nothing more than to see these assholes tried at The Hague.

[David Zephyr]

22. Enthusiastic K & R.

:kick:

[AntiFascist]

23. K&R, Wow! I never thought this story would gain any traction! n/t

[nicknameless]

24. Exclusive? This info was posted days ago, linked to another source.

MSM is the last to report bad news for the reich-wing.

[Disturbed]

27. Our Congress did not have the guts to Impeach Rumsfailed.

Further Evidence Rumsfeld Implicated in War Crimes
Please read this important post by Marty Lederman, Army Confirms: Rumsfeld Authorized Criminal Conduct.

Here's a key section, but there's more:
The Army's charges against Jordan reflect the view, undoubtedly correct, that the use of forced nudity or intimidation with dogs against detainees subject to military control constitutes cruelty and maltreatment that Article 93 makes criminal. It doesn't matter whether they are or are not "torture," as such; nor does it matter whether the armed forces should be permitted to use such interrogation techniques: As things currently stand, they are unlawful, as even the Army now acknowledges.

But then how can we account for the actions of the Secretary of Defense and his close aides?

On November 27, 2002, Pentagon General Counsel William Haynes, following discussions with Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz, General Myers, and Doug Feith, informed the Secretary of Defense that forced nudity and the use of the fear of dogs to induce stress were lawful techniques, and he recommended that they be approved for use at Guantanamo.
(The lists of techniques to which Haynes was referring can be found in this memorandum.) On December 2, 2002, Secretary Rumsfeld approved those techniques for use at Guantanamo -- and subsequently those techniques were used on detainee Mohammed al-Qahtani.

In other words, the Secretary of Defense authorized criminal conduct.

Today's Army charge under UCMJ Article 93 against Lt. Col. Jordan -- for conduct that the SecDef actually authorized as to some detainees -- demonstrates that Rumsfeld approved of, and encouraged, violations of the criminal law.

http://www.discourse.net/archives/2006/04/further_evidence_rumsfeld_implicated_in_war_crimes.html

[nicknameless]

28. But it's a new day now, and a new Congress ... with subpoena power.

Doesn't the air smell better and the sun seem to shine a little brighter?


}(

[Swamp Rat]

26. BRING IT ON!!!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[me b zola]

29. k&r

[FernBell]

30. k&r

[magellan]

31. Method to the madness

One begins to see the potential truth and practicality in the rumor that Bush** just bought a 10,000 acre ranch down in Paraguay. The entire cabal can live on that much land comfortably and never bump into each other -- or have to worry about extradition. Rummy is probably on the way with blueprints for his new house.

[StraightDope]

32. Wait, I thought that Zacarias Moussoui was the "20th hijacker"

Is this kind of like how there are 186 Al-Qaeda #2s? :eyes:

[jazzjunkysue]

33. Here's the roster: Gonzalez is my personal fav for prison,

1. Rumsfeld,
2. Gonzales
3. Tenet,
4. Stephen Cambone
5. Jay Bybee;
6. John Yoo
7. William James Haynes II
8. David S. Addington
9. General Ricardo Sanchez
10. Gen. Geoffrey Miller
11. Major General Walter Wojdakowski
12. Col. Thomas Pappas

[TahitiNut]

38. A new "dirty dozen" - war criminals

:thumbsup:

[A-Schwarzenegger]

36. No "Curveball"?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

37. K&R

[badgerpup]

39. Hit it, Mick!

"The walls...come tumbling down, the walls...come rumblin' round...
The walls...come tumbling, crumbling...DOOOOWWWWN....."
:woohoo:

Vin-di-cay-shun. Damn, but that word tastes GOOD...
:toast:

[Imagevision]

41. It niow appears the firing of Rumsfeld wasn't a coincidence by Bush, instead

merely distancing himself from future problems about to occur.

[sce56]

43. I would love to see an investigation into this death was it a suicide?

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/07/1445239
Soldier Killed Herself After Objecting to Interrogation Techniques Being Used on Iraqi Prisoners


Specialist Alyssa Peterson died in Iraq in September, 2003. The military listed her death as the result of a "non-hostile weapons discharge." But newly uncovered military documents reveal Peterson actually shot herself with her service rifle. The documents also show her suicide came just two weeks after she refused to take part in further interrogations of Iraqi prisoners and had asked to be reassigned. We speak with the reporter who broke the story. Did the torture of Iraqi prisoners lead an American soldier to take her own life? The question is being raised on the heels of new-disclosed military documents kept under wraps for the past three years.

Specialist Alyssa Peterson was twenty-seven years old when she died on September 15th, 2003. She was the third female soldier to lose her life in the Iraq war. Peterson was assigned as an interrogator to a US air base in Tal Afar. The military listed her death as the result of a: "non-hostile weapons discharge."

But the newly uncovered military documents reveal Peterson actually shot herself with her service rifle. The documents also show her suicide came just two weeks after she refused to take part in further interrogations of Iraqi prisoners and had asked to be reassigned. Peterson had taken part in just two interrogation sessions. James D. Hamilton - Peterson's first sergeant -- told investigators: "It was hard for her to be aggressive to prisoners/detainees, as she felt that we were cruel to them." Military officials refused to describe what techniques Peterson had objected to and said all records of them had been destroyed.

Was it a suicide? I think not she was against what was happening and others probably did not like that! The biggest thing here is that the cause of death, suicide, was hidden for so long three years!

October 17, 2006,Will be remembered as the Enabling day of the 21st Century!
"The government will make use of these powers only insofar as they are essential for carrying out vitally necessary measures..."
~Adolf Hitler, March 23, 1933, before the German Parliament (Reichstag) as he urged them to pass his "Enabling Act"

Got Fascism Yet?


http://www.georgewalkerbush.net/bush-nazilinkconfirmed.htm



Fascism Accomplished!