General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Obama is BOUND BY LAW to prosecute torture. [View all]branford
(4,462 posts)Although you clearly mean well, I don't believe you understand basic constitutional separation of powers or legal procedure.
You can yell or cite "must" all you want, it's really meaningless and for all intent and purposes effectively aspirational.
This is the only relevant question: What actual mechanism can be employed in American courts to compel the president or anyone else in the executive branch of government to initiate torture prosecutions, and who would have standing to seek such relief?
In fact, the treaty contemplates that a country will not prosecute, and provides for an alternative international forum. This option is even less likely than a domestic prosecution. It basically requires the political branches to consent to the extradition of an American official to a foreign tribunal or their physical rendition. Virtually no member of either party will consent to sending an American high official to a foreign court, and they would be supported by the vast majority of the American public. As for physical rendition, I do not believe that the ICC or Hague is prepared to engage in a military conflict with American armed forces.