Warrant for Rumsfeld?

[techumseh]

Not yet, but we can hope!

Rumsfeld cancels trip after accusations


US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld cancelled a planned visit to Germany after a US human rights organisation asked German authorities to prosecute him for war crimes, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) has learned.


Rumsfeld has informed the German government via the US embassy that he will not take part in the Munich Security Conference in February, conference head Horst Teltschik told dpa on Thursday.

The New York-based Centre for Constitutional Rights filed a
complaint in December with the Federal German Prosecutor's Office against Rumsfeld accusing him of war crimes and torture in connection with detainee abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

Rumsfeld made it known immediately after the complaint was filed that he would not attend the Munich conference unless Germany quashed the legal action.


The organisation alleges violations of German legislation, which
outlaws war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide independent of the place of crime or origin of the accused.

The prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe reportedly is examining the
roughly 170-page complaint to see whether an investigation is warranted.

The Centre for Constitutional Rights said it and four Iraqis allegedly tortured in US custody filed a complaint with German authorities against Rumsfeld, former CIA director George Tenet and eight other senior military and civilian officials over abuses at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere in Iraq.

The organisation said it had turned to German prosecutors "as a court of last resort" because the US government "is unwilling to open an independent investigation" and had "refused to join the International Criminal Court".

[Ted Striker]

The people in charge knowingly requested to waive the Geneva Conventions, the people in charge should be held accountable for their actions.

[Dinner]

Nothing will happen to either him or Bush as long as they are in office but it will be interesting to see if they are jailed after they leave office.

[Agathon]

Why expect that? Nixon and Kissinger managed to avoid it and they were worse.

[Ted Striker]

Jeb gets elected 2008, pardons his brother and all his boys.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Ted Striker


The people in charge knowingly requested to waive the Geneva Conventions, the people in charge should be held accountable for their actions.

What do the Geneva Conventions have to do with any of this?

[Ted Striker]

double

[Ted Striker]

.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Ted Striker
.

I thought the charges being considered in Germany had to do with Iraq, ie not Al Qaueda and not the Taliban?

[Ted Striker]

Torture planes, Abu Gharib, Guantanamo, those all fell from the same tree.

[Alexander's Horse]

This could be a real problem for Bush Administration II.

Under the Napoleonic system, magistrates act independently as investigators and prosecutors- look at what has happened to Pinochet.

This means human right groups could get warrants issued for Bush, Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld which would restrict their ability to travel internationally.

There are a number of heads of state cannot travel to certain states because of arrest warrants.

It would be an amazing development if US Administration figures could not travel but it is possible.

[Patroklos]

This could be a real problem for Bush Administration II.

Under the Napoleonic system, magistrates act independently as investigators and prosecutors- look at what has happened to Pinochet.

This means human right groups could get warrants issued for Bush, Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld which would restrict their ability to travel internationally.

There are a number of heads of state cannot travel to certain states because of arrest warrants.

It would be an amazing development if US Administration figures could not travel but it is possible.

Not quite as amazing as what would happen to said states in retaliation.

[DinoDoc]

I don't really see why he canceled the trip given that even if a warrant were issued, he has immunity from prosecution under international law while in office and could not be arrested. This is without even going into the dubious merrits of the case.

[Patroklos]

True, god knows there woudln't be a foriegn diplomat in the US if we made them pay parking tickets.

[Agathon]

Not quite as amazing as what would happen to said states in retaliation.

You mean you'd bring over your soldiers so we could take pot shots at them.

Goody...