Several good pieces in the New York Times this morning. Mark Landler has a thorough report on the war crimes charges case against Rumsfeld and his subordinates. I especially liked this quote from attorney Wolfgang Kaleck in Berlin:
“Even if we never put Rumsfeld on trial in a German court, he will be harassed and publicly stamped as a torturer,” said Wolfgang Kaleck, a Berlin lawyer who filed the complaint along with the Center for Constitutional Rights, an American group, and other legal organizations.
And there was some new information: Janis Karpinski, the former commander of Abu Ghraib and the scapegoat for the torture scandel, has flown to Germany to testify as a witness. Die Zeit also has a sympathetic article on Karpinski. Even if trial never takes place, Rumsfeld could face difficulties if he travels to a EU country. I recommend that we set up a fund to buy one-way tickets to Old Europe for Rumsfeld and his vassals - Alberto "Abu" Gonzales and John "Torture" Yoo.
Also in my previous post, I mentioned the anecdotal evidence that President Bush took a personal interest in the torture of a mentally deranged detainee. Now the NYTimes reports that the CIA has two classified documents signed by President Bush: one orders the creation of illegal secret CIA prison facilities for holding detainees, and the other is a directive which sanctions torture in the interrogation of detainees. Nancy Pelosi, the incoming Speaker of the House, has stated that "impeachment (of Bush) is off the table". If these two documents can be produced, why shouldn't President Bush face immediate impeachment?
UPDATE: Attorney and blogger Glen Greenwald shreds the concept of "universal jurisdiciton" , which is the basis of the lawsuit in Germany:
"This notion of one country being so hubristic that they arrogate unto themselves the right of "universal jurisdiction" -- basically the power of a world government -- seems rather dangerous and un-democratic in the extreme. "Consent of the governed" is the linchpin of the legitimate exercise of government power, and it is utterly lacking with Germany's claim of universal jurisdiction."
Comments