Bush administration arrests former human shields.

[oedo]

depends. no one posted the law yet, so we don´t know.
maybe the law itself even has a point and was made to secure the UN embargo against Iraq and prevent trade activities just as investments in Iraq. it certainly was never intended to harass peace activists or travellers.

if so then the Bush admin is to blame for the excessive abuse of this law by defining that daily trades for one´s own living would be the same thing like commercial trade.

[Agathon]

Presumably this counts as a form of civil disobedience.

However, it's clear that this is malicious prosecution of one's political enemies rather than a serious attempt to crack down on evil criminals.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Verto
Funny how Bush gets blamed for this, when this kind of stuff has been going on for years.

When was the last time?

And, last I recall, Mr. Bush was allegedly in charge over there in DC? In the military, they have this little thing known as "command responsibility."

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by oedo
depends. no one posted the law yet, so we don´t know.
maybe the law itself even has a point and was made to secure the UN embargo against Iraq and prevent trade activities just as investments in Iraq. it certainly was never intended to harass peace activists or travellers.

if so then the Bush admin is to blame for the excessive abuse of this law by defining that daily trades for one´s own living would be the same thing like commercial trade.

There's no single specific law by itself. The way it works is George Bush Sr. issued an executive order that claims authority from prior acts of Congress, and the EO authorizes different executive agencies to develop regulations for prohibited and permittable actions - since the point of sanctions acts are to prohibit commerce, most of that regulation is developed by the Dept. of the Treasury.

If prosecuted, the arrestees would be charged under one or more provisions of the original statutes that the EO claims as authority.

Anyway, here y'all go:

http://www.treas.gov/offices/eotffc/ofac/legal/eo/12722.pdf

[Elden]

It seems that justice and law get further apart day by day.

[oedo]

thanks MtG. reading the EO the goverment´s abuse of it becomes obvious. it was made in order to limit economic relations to a dictatorship and now it´s abused for a silly witchhunt on harmless travellers and hippies. this EO was never directed to theses people.
I hope the goverment will lose on this.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Verto
Funny how Bush gets blamed for this, when this kind of stuff has been going on for years.

Acutally, no. The last time anyone was prosecuted was under the Reagan Administration, for going to Cuba and then shooting their mouth off about it. If you went to Cuba and didn't tell everyone you went, the Feds didn't care. Up until Bush II, no one cared if you went to Cuba, now they are making noises about prosecuting Americans who go there. All during the Clinton years, Voices in the Wilderness traveled to Iraq. Now people are being threatened with prison for standing up to their government.

I think they were terribly naive if they thought they could try and embaress this Administration and get away with it scott free. These people are like the Mob.