The US isn't likely to try * admin for war crimes- -but it's likely that a European country will.

[babylonsister]

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=597957fd-6bbf-4d02-b29f-3dbd35176038

Travel Advisory by Scott Horton
The U.S. isn't likely to try Bush administration officials for war crimes--but it's likely that a European country will.
Post Date Thursday, June 19, 2008


Tuesday's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing provided the latest evidence that top Bush administration officials directed the use of torture techniques on detained suspected terrorists. Three panels of witnesses traced the use of highly coercive techniques back to the high echelons of the administration. The day ended with the grilling of William J. Haynes II, the former general counsel of the Department of Defense and a protégé of Cheney's chief of staff David Addington, who is now widely viewed as the "station master" of the administration's torture policy. And in April, ABC News reported that officials including Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, and Donald Rumsfeld had held a series of meetings to discuss the use of specific torture techniques on detained suspect terrorists. The ABC report amplified earlier stories which said the decision to destroy videotapes of interrogations of suspects in CIA captivity involved four senior White House lawyers and other senior figures.

At the same time, Philippe Sands's new book The Torture Team reveals the falsity of White House claims that the push to introduce torture techniques came from interrogators in the field. Sands demonstrates that the decision to use techniques like waterboarding came from the top, and tracks the elaborate scheme to make it appear that the practices began with a request from Guantánamo.
Will administration officials face war crimes prosecutions in Europe?Credit: Getty Images

snip//

But the focus of prosecutorial efforts will most likely be beyond America's frontiers. War crimes are subject to a principle of universal jurisdiction--that is, they may be enforced by any nation. Moreover, when one nation takes legal steps to create immunity for its political leaders, one widely recognized principle of international law holds that other nations should then take action. So the Bush administration's efforts to immunize its own may work in the U.S., but they will have a boomerang effect, creating criminal jurisdiction in other countries.

Is it likely that prosecutions will be brought overseas? Yes. It is reasonably likely. Sands's book contains an interview with an investigating magistrate in a European nation, which he describes as a NATO nation with a solidly pro-American orientation which supported U.S. engagement in Iraq with its own soldiers. The magistrate makes clear that he is already assembling a case, and is focused on American policymakers. I read these remarks and they seemed very familiar to me. In the past two years, I have spoken with two investigating magistrates in two different European nations, both pro-Iraq war NATO allies. Both were assembling war crimes charges against a small group of Bush administration officials. "You can rest assured that no charges will be brought before January 20, 2009," one told me. And after that? "It depends. We don't expect extradition. But if one of the targets lands on our territory or on the territory of one of our cooperating jurisdictions, then we'll be prepared to act."

Viewed in this light, the Bush Administration figures involved in the formation of torture policy face no immediate threat of prosecution for war crimes. But Colin Powell's chief of staff, Colonel Larry Wilkerson, nails it: "Haynes, Feith, Yoo, Bybee, Gonzales and--at the apex--Addington, should never travel outside the U.S., except perhaps to Saudi Arabia and Israel. They broke the law; they violated their professional ethical code. In the future, some government may build the case necessary to prosecute them in a foreign court, or in an international court." Augusto Pinochet made a trip to London, and his life was never the same afterwards.

The Bush administration officials who pushed torture will need to be careful about their travel plans.

[bryant69]

1. What the United States do if Feith, for example was put on trial in Europe?

Can't see that going well.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[babylonsister]

7. Feith? Who'd care? He might be their sacrificial lamb. nt

[Solly Mack]

2. I wish that made me feel better

but America giving a pass to its war criminal executive doesn't exactly give me the warm fuzzies about my country

[seemslikeadream]

3. Bush Administration Torture Trail

Senate Armed Service Cmte. Hearing on Aggressive Interrogation Techniques: Panels Two & Three (June 17, 2008)
How did waterboarding come to be used on detainees in U.S. custody? The Senate Armed Service Cmte. asks military advisors and officials, including former DOD General Counsel William Haynes, to detail the debate over aggressive interrogation techniques.
Washington, DC : 4 hr. 10 min.


M$M is going to have to report this someday, I wonder how the masses will react.



Bush Administration Torture Trail

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080617/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/detainees_treatment


Military lawyers objected to harsher interrogation


Military lawyers warned against the harsh detainee interrogation techniques approved by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in 2002, contending in separate memos weeks before Rumsfeld's endorsement that they could be illegal, a Senate panel has found.

The investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee also has confirmed that senior administration officials, including the Pentagon's then-general counsel William "Jim" Haynes, sought information on a program involving military psychologists early on to devise the more aggressive methods — which included the use of dogs, making a detainee stand for long periods of time and forced nudity, according to officials familiar with the findings.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not been formally released. Details, including the names of the service lawyers who objected to the interrogation techniques, were to be discussed at an open committee hearing Tuesday.

Rumsfeld's December 2002 approval of the aggressive interrogation techniques and later objections by military lawyers have been widely reported. But the November protests by service lawyers had not, and the interest by Pentagon civilians in military psychologists has surfaced only piecemeal.









This is what Philippe Sands was talking about at the hearing

There seems to be a direct connection between torture at Guantanamo and the beginning of 24

Individuals were watching and influenced by the TV program 24

TV show had many friends at Guantanamo.

Three weeks after the beginning of 2nd season of 24 the torture began.


Philippe Sands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUICm1VH-rQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j38GxxE2CBY


The Green Light: Attorney Philippe Sands Follows the Bush Administration Torture Trail

A new exposé in Vanity Fair by British attorney Philippe Sands reveals new details about how attorney John Yoo and other high-ranking administration lawyers helped design and implement the interrogation policies seen at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and secret CIA prisons. According to Vanity Fair, then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and other top officials personally visited Guantanamo in 2002, discussed interrogation techniques and witnessed interrogations. Sands joins us in our firehouse studio.



Philippe Sands: Guantanamo Bay and Interrogation Rules
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPAGNNsrwUw



Jimmy Carter: Talks George Bush & war crimes at Hay Festival
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrWBY2hO6vA

When pressed by Philippe Sands...on Bush's recent admission that he had authorized interrogation procedures widely seen as amounting to torture, Carter replied that he was sure Bush would be able to live a peaceful, 'productive life - in our country'" after he leaves the White House. Sands later said that he had "understood that to be 'clear confirmation' that, while Bush would face no challenge in his own country, 'what happened outside the country was another matter entirely.'


Phillipe Sands Discusses Torture and U.S. Policy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S6IU755uFM

On Bill Moyers Journal, human rights lawyer Phillipe Sands discusses his new book on how the U.S. came to abandon the Geneva Convention and accept torture. Sands says Bush administration officials are unwilling to accept responsibility for their actions.



Rep. Mike Pence: Guantanamo Bay and Interrogation Rules
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTla3-JZhnM

Philippe Sands attempts to enlighten Rep. Pence as to why torture is wrong during his appearance before the House Judiciary Constitution, Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Subcmte. hearing on Guantanamo Bay and Interrogation Rules


Rep.John Conyers: Guantanamo Bay and Interrogation Rules
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFLCNypjK6k

Philippe Sands responds to Rep. Conyers question as to what avenues of inquiry the committee should undertake and expounds upon his testimony before the House Judiciary Constitution, Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Subcmte. hearing on Guantanamo Bay and Interrogation Rules.



Addington was the leader of the pack, went to Guantanamo himself




Rep.Artur Davis: Guantanamo Bay and Interrogation Rules
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sst5vMpOFx4

David Rivkin tries to claim that the IRA was a different threat but Rep.Davis throws his flawed logic back in his face. Philippe Sands also pointedly rebukes Rivkin assertions. Discussion of Presidental pardons to exonerate torture policies employed is hypothetically touched on. From hearing by House Judiciary Constitution, Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Subcmte. on Guantanamo Bay and Interrogation Rules.



Rep.Issa & Rep.Ellison: Guantanamo Bay Interrogation Rules
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQKZ5WaTWdA

Philippe Sands responds to the slick and sly Rep.Issa and details his thoughts further upon question by Rep. Ellison during hearing by House Judiciary Constitution, Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Subcmte. on Guantanamo Bay and Interrogation Rules.

[babylonsister]

8. "M$M is going to have to report this someday"-I wish, but I'm

not so convinced. Great post, slad! And throw Rivkin into this mix; he's as guilty if not more so.

[seemslikeadream]

10. one more link

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
By Contrast, Here's an Administration Attorney Who Takes His Public Service Seriously -- Important Revelations from Dan Levin


Marty Lederman




http://balkin.blogspot.com /

[bdamomma]

4. Jimmy Carter also has said something about them staying

closer to home, my opinion those European countries do not play, and I hope behind the scenes that they are gearing up to get these SOB's.

[mmonk]

5. Since we reject the International Court and international law,

I remain sceptacle. Will the court issue a commando team to capture them?

[Vogon_Glory]

6. You Must Catch The Man First Before You Jail Him

You've first got to catch the man before you can jail him. I doubt that Buckaroo Bush would go abroad after he leaves office; he never showed much interest in foreign travel before, and I doubt he'll show much afterwards. I suspect that Cheney is wary enough to be careful, but will probably restrict his travels to the US, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai. Of the rest of them, I expect that at least one or two of them will be stupid enough or arrogant enough to get caught in the wrong country.

[sam sarrha]

9. any hope of them "Extreme Renditioning" them outa here for us.?.. Please...

[OhioChick]

11. K&R

:kick:

[Cleita]

12. I'm sure they are shaking in their boots because we probably won't

extradite them if there is a conviction. We need to do it here.

[Faux pas]

13. I always hope he'll be arrested every time he leaves the country.

I would love to some big international tribunal, but I think he has too many partners in crime in other countries. Too bad.