Marjorie Cohn: Why Was Cheney So Quick to Admit He's a War Criminal?

[marmar]

Why Was Cheney So Quick to Admit He's a War Criminal?

By Marjorie Cohn, AlterNet. Posted December 20, 2008.

Cheney confessed because he thinks either Bush will pardon him or that Obama won't prosecute him -- but the law would forbid both approaches.



Dick Cheney has publicly confessed to ordering war crimes. Asked about waterboarding in an ABC News interview, Cheney replied, "I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get the process cleared." He also said he still believes waterboarding was an appropriate method to use on terrorism suspects. CIA Director Michael Hayden confirmed that the agency waterboarded three al-Qaida suspects in 2002 and 2003.

U.S. courts have long held that waterboarding, where water is poured into someone's nose and mouth until he nearly drowns, constitutes torture. Our federal War Crimes Act defines torture as a war crime punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty if the victim dies.

Under the doctrine of command responsibility, enshrined in U.S. law, commanders all the way up the chain of command, to the commander in chief, can be held liable for war crimes, if they knew or should have known their subordinates would commit them and they did nothing to stop or prevent it.

Why is Cheney so sanguine about admitting he is a war criminal? Because he's confident that either President Bush will preemptively pardon him or President-elect Obama won't prosecute him.

Both of those courses of action would be illegal. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/rights/114325/why_was_cheney_so_quick_to_admit_he%27s_a_war_criminal/

[pleah]

1. Maybe Bushit is going to pardon all of them, or

maybe they know that the statute of limitations is running out. :shrug:

[Bandit]

2. There is no statute of limitations for war crimes

and according to the post war crimes can not be pardoned by the President.

[pleah]

3. Thank you.

I must have misunderstood what was being said on the Rachel Maddow show the other night. :)

[marmar]

4. Indeed.

n/t

[opihimoimoi]

5. Because he knows death is imminent??

[leftofthedial]

6. bush will pardon all his fellow gang members.

plus, we KNOW that the Obama has zero interest in pursuing justice. His sole focus is on "reaching across the aisle."

Cheney is confident that the bar of allowable criminality in the White House has been moved FAR to the end of the totalitarian spectrum, just as planned.

[marmar]

8. "His sole focus is on "reaching across the aisle."

Mon dieu. :eyes:

[leftofthedial]

9. well, it's certainly not on change.

and it's certainly not on acting on Democratic principles.

and it's certainly not on reaching out to progressives.

and it's certainly not on rejecting right wing hatred.

what does that leave us . . .

the only thing he's done convincingly so far is to reward right wing and right-of-center ideologues with prominent positions.

[earth mom]

7. Because Cheney knows he will get away with it & criminals like him love to brag.

:puke: