New York Times demands: Prosecute Cheney, Gonzalez, Addington, etc. Doubts Obama will come through

"Now, a bipartisan report by the Senate Armed Services Committee has made what amounts to a strong case for bringing criminal charges against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; his legal counsel, William J. Haynes; and potentially other top officials, including the former White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and David Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff."


These officials have been proved by a senate report to have introduced Chinese forms of torture into our system that are not only illegal, but also ineffective, the New York Times observes today.

A signal needs to be sent in light of the fact that torture may still be happening in secret CIA chambers.

The paper does not believe President Obama will come through:

"Given his other problems — and how far he has moved from the powerful stands he took on these issues early in the campaign — we do not hold out real hope that Barack Obama, as president, will take such a politically fraught step."

link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/opinion/18thu1.html?_r=1&hp

That is unfortunate, on many levels, but it is a misfortune owing solely to the acts of those criminals themselves.

apathy and tyranny all becasue it's just too much trouble.

AAAARRRGGHH!!

Is that it upsets one of the deepest, unspoken understandings of our political system, which is that to lose an election is not a prison offense. This is a major reason why the turning over of power peaceably from one party to another occurs without much incident, and continues as routine. Punishment has been confined to political and public disgrace; jail time has been withheld. Of course, this tacit compact requires a certain restraint on the part of the criminal element as well, in that it must confine its criminal behavior to an acceptable degree, that will not put too great a strain on those expected to show forbearance towards it. It is on that side that this compact has broken down in our day, for direct orders from the highest levels of an administration that the U.S. military engage in grave breaches of international humanitarian law, that have been declared felonies by Federal statute, simply cannot be properly overlooked.

"It is not enough that justice be done; justice must be seen to be done."

it must be the heavy burden of those in power Jan 21, 2009 to recognize the extraordinary nature of the circumstances and find a way to make the war criminals accountable. They will have a tough program to administer justice in the face of so many efforts to block it.

Then again, I'm almost persuaded to refrain and let the international law institutions do what they do.Then we can see if the Bush strategy of not signing the ICC agreement actually is a get out of jail free card. After all, the internationals are the ones who need to see that we bring our criminals to justice. The American people don't seem to care that much--or fear it.

I will never be comfortable with what Bush did "In Our Name." Why should all Americans pay the price for his character flaws?

Something must be done.

I wonder if one or both Houses of Congress aren't the better arm of government to do the initial investigation rather than the President.

But prosecution is in the President's hands.

They have no place acting as moral authority.

I'd rather see them as a late moral authority than as a continuing provider of the rationale, wouldn't you?

I'm still furious with them. Maybe I could get over it if I felt they were actively fighting the idiotic "Obama's associated with Blago" stuff that's going on in the corporate media.

That Rumsfeld -- as one of the primary perpetrators of the regime -- shouldn't be indicted?

in the world as long as the laws of the land are not applied equally to all, particularly for the gross crimes against humanity.

I do not have great hope in regards to prosecutions alas.

:hi:

Not that he would be prosecuted successfully, but just to show the world that we're trying.

...he needs to go on TV and tell us why not.

If he can make a compelling case as to why not, it might go along way toward keeping some respect from the rest of the world. Not to mention us here.

Otherwise: "Lets go get those bush bastards!"