Thursday, June 19, 2008

The U.S. isn't likely to try Bush administration officials for war crimes--but it's likely that a European country will

"....These disclosures and others have put the issue of war crimes on the front burner. Major General Antonio Taguba released (below) this statement in the forward to a report just out by Physicians for Human Rights...... In other hearings, witnesses have treaded lightly and experienced frequent failures of recollection, perhaps driven by a concern over self-incrimination. And, indeed, in what may be a sign of things to come, 26 American civil servants are being tried in absentia by an Italian court in Milan for their involvement in the rendition of a radical Muslim cleric to Egypt. So, is it really feasible for Bush administration officials to be tried for war crimes?...
......yes, there are ample theoretical grounds for a war-crimes prosecution.......But the action requires political will, which makes it quite unlikely to happen in the United States....
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..."

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