Schadenfreude time. According to Philipe Sands, international human rights lawyer (interviewed on “Fresh Air”), top Bush administration officials up to and including the Man himself may face criminal penalties upon leaving office. Being in a Nuclear Five nation didn’t save Mr. Pinochet from extradition to a foreign country (although his failing health ultimately did); why, Sands asks, would it save Rumsfeld, or even Bush? His conclusion: it won’t, and neither will a presidential pardon, so the U.S. ought to crack down on these fellows come January ’08, before some other countries try to jump into it.
Also – and I’d be a terrible person if I didn’t tell you about this – apparently Barnes & Noble is having a DVD sale, an opportunity you MUST avail yourself of. Buy 2, get 1 free. It was a very good day.
Not that it wouldn’t be deserved, but I cannot imagine anyone in the administration being extradited to a foreign country to stand trial. No matter who the new president will be (save Dennis Kucinich), I doubt they will allow the embarrassment of high ranking US officials facing criminal prosecution in another country.
Posted by Donnie | June 27, 2008, 8:43 pmI think you’re right, and I think the next president – especially Obama – would be a fool to not do everything he could to oppose it. BUT, the point of the NPR interview is that it might not be his choice…
Posted by Ames | June 27, 2008, 9:01 pmIn the interview they were saying, that they can be detained and prosecuted for war crimes or crimes against humanity if they just go to a foreign country. He said that would be acceptable by international law. It was mostly in relation to people approving torture.
At least I hope I got all those details right.
Posted by oneiroi | June 28, 2008, 9:33 amNow that I think about it, it may have been another NPR interview that I listened to that mentioned something like this.
Posted by oneiroi | June 28, 2008, 9:59 am