Should President Bush Be Given Retroactive Immunity for Possible War Crimes?
I'm inclined to think "no".
Bad people have been given access to the cookie jar, and our two political parties have made it impossible for good citizens to do anything about it. It's why Bob Corker now does things like voting against habeas corpus, and has nothing to fear other than losing his parties endorsement.
| By Josiah Roe | 2:37 PM
Comments
How long do we have to wait before we start blaming stuff on the new Senator?
Dude. Right freaking now.
Posted by: davidm. at September 25, 2007 3:19 PM
lol. They're all responsible, but he's my senator.
Posted by: Josiah at September 25, 2007 3:25 PM
I guess we could write a letter of complaint. I'm sure Bob's e-mail auto-response team can lay responsibility at the feet of David Petraeus in some form or fashion.
Posted by: davidm. at September 25, 2007 3:37 PM
I've got a great idea. Let's waste a bunch time by "denouncing moveon.org". Buffoons, the lot of them.
Posted by: Josiah at September 25, 2007 3:47 PM
I don't think he needs to be given retroactive immunity, because he probably has it. Sovereign immunity is powerful medicine. There isn't any court in the world competent to hear an indictment of a sitting or former head of state of a currently-existing state for war crimes. If we can't do anything to Pinochet, for crying out loud, Bush is completely unreachable. The only time heads of state see justice is if they get conquered.
Besides, most of the "war crimes" alleged look far more like unpopular and injudicious political decisions than crimes against humanity per se. There's no remedy for that other than winning an election.
Posted by: ryan at September 26, 2007 9:35 AM
I'll give you that Bush is about as unreachable as one could be. Whether he committed war crimes or not is more up for debate. Principle VI of the Nuremberg Principles defines "starting or waging war against the integrity, independence, or sovereignty of a territory or state" as a Crime against peace. Crimes against peace are punishable as war crimes under international law.
Posted by: Ben at September 28, 2007 12:36 PM
