'These People Fear Prosecution': Why Bush's CIA Team Should Worry About Its Dark Embrace of Torture

[babsbunny]

http://www.alternet.org/rights/136123/%27these_people_fear_prosecution%27%3A_why_bush%27s_cia_team_should_worry_about_its_dark_embrace_of_torture/

'These People Fear Prosecution': Why Bush's CIA Team Should Worry About Its Dark Embrace of Torture


The New Yorker's Jane Mayer discusses the fallout from the Red Cross' shocking report on CIA torture and its serious legal implications.


On the night of April 6, a long-secret document was published -- in its entirety for the first time -- that provided a clear, stark look at the CIA torture program carried out by the Bush administration.

Dated Feb. 14, 2007, the 41-page report describes in harrowing detail the "ill treatment" of 14 "high-value" detainees in U.S. custody, as recounted by the prisoners in interviews with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

[gratuitous]

1. It's not like they weren't warned

Responsible voices for humanity and the country have been speaking out about this for years, condemning these atrocities and demanding that those responsible be held accountable. I'm not interested in the latter-day pleas for leniency and understanding. These fuckers sold our country and its soul down the river for nothing except their own sadistic kicks. If we don't bring the perpetrators to justice, we are saying to the world at large that we endorse their despicable actions.

And if we don't prosecute, someone else will. It might be an orderly tribunal convened under internationally recognized laws and procedures of evidence and testimony. Or justice will be meted out to us by an extra-legal ad hoc cohort interested only in punishment and not a careful identification of the actual wrong-doers. Would any of us want to die for the crimes of the Bush administration? If not, then it's up to us to demonstrate to the world that we abhor these crimes as much as they do.

Bring the perpetrators, their bosses and their enablers to justice.

[AndyTiedye]

2. The Hague Awaits Them!

The International Criminal Court in the Hague was established to bring people like these to justice.
The ICC is also one of the few entities in the world that they fear.
I think some of them have nightmares about it.

[peacebird]

3. What would it take to trigger a trial in the Hague? It appears there is already copious info

including Cheney bragging about torture, and Bush admitting in a State of the Union address that we had murdered suspected terrorists (remember the smirk when he said "well they aren't a threat anymore" or something like that?

Why hasn't a formal investigation been launched already?

[AndyTiedye]

4. The United States Has Not Ratified the Treaty of Rome, BUT

These people have committed crimes in other countries that have, such as the United Kingdom (conspiracy to start a war on false pretenses),
or Niger and Italy (fabricating evidence for the above).

Nations that were solicited to join the "Coalition of the Willing" may well have been presented with fraudulent data in support of their joining the coalition.

Any of the countries could refer the matter to the International Criminal Court.

The Bush administration required all countries receiving foreign aid to promise not to do that. The Obama administration has removed this condition on aid.

[EFerrari]

6. Victim(s) in any member country have standing and this program was worldwide.

[chill_wind]

5. K & R n/t