January 10, 2009 by mike.

It does not matter if George W. Bush issues presidential pardons to the people who carried out torture at his prompting because torture is a crime of universal jurisdiction. (and to his credit, Bush did not issue the torture pardons) A pardon in the US does not prevent an investigation and prosecution for torture, in fact, such a pardon probably hastens the investigation.

For more information about this matter I suggest listening to the Terry Gross interview of Philippe Sands on Fresh Air.

If you have questions about how this works in practice you should review the belated, but essential prosecution of Chile’s General Pinochet. If you think these are not serious concerns then you should review Henry Kissinger’s travels abroad as he tries to live his life without prosecution for his work in Vietnam.

Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Yoo, Addington, and others in the departing Bush administration will be the targets of investigation and prosecution for their actions with torture.

clipped from www.tortureteam.com On December 2, 2002 the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, signed his name at the bottom of a document that listed eighteen techniques of interrogation - techniques that defied international definitions of torture. The Rumsfeld Memo authorized the controversial interrogation practices that later migrated to Guantanamo, Afghanistan, Abu Ghraib and elsewhere, as part of the policy of extraordinary rendition.

Posted in Connect the Dots, Small Foot Print, War Criminals | Print | 1 Comment »

January 10, 2009 by mike.

Movement toward a just, peaceful, sustainable world requires a vigorous response to war crimes. Nation states that engage in war crimes and violations of international law such as the Geneva Conventions or the international treaty against torture should be investigated and the individuals found to be responsible for the violations should be tried for war crimes. Right now, the call is being made to bring that investigation into the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Read below.

clipped from news.yahoo.com UN rights chief wants investigation of Gaza abuses Fri�Jan�9, 10:15�am�ET   GENEVA – The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights called Friday for an independent war crimes investigation in Gaza after reports that Israeli forces shelled a house full of Palestinian civilians, killing 30 people. Pillay went further in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., saying an incident in Gaza City this week “appears to have all the elements of war crimes.” Navi Pillay told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council that the harm to Israeli civilians caused by Hamas rockets was unacceptable, but did not excuse any abuses carried out by Israeli forces in response.

Posted in Connect the Dots, Small Foot Print, War Criminals | Print | 1 Comment »