It is an apt irony that the nation of war leaders first tried for crimes against humanity should be the locale for this action.

I expect it was American-led allies who put in place, as law in Germany, the universal authority to try war criminals, but I don't know that history. I hope so. For it shows how far we, in the USA, have sunk since the righteous victory in Europe in WWII.

Such an action as that proposed shouts, loudly and clearly, to the youth of America--once it was different than it has been since Reagan. You have a heritage of individual freedom and sacrifice for global responsibility buried under that pile of garbage called the Reagan Revolution and its descendants.

It was evident in the anti-Vietnam War movement, and the Civil Rights struggle, and Feminism. And, yes, also in rock n roll. Americans have not always been serfs for the rich, content with being looked after by those who consider themselves our betters.

Once, and not so long ago, it was Power to the People! We, the people, are still here. And with a little help from our friends, we shall put the USA back in an order to be proud of, rather than ashamed of.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

'Universal jurisdiction' ? The German court claims jurisdiction over the universe. Uh, Fritz you lost the war remember? You guys DIDN'T take over the world and so you can't claim 'universal' jurisdiction.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

War is a crime mo***rfu*****.

it's always been time to rage against the machine

but when will we end all this violence?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Let's not overlook the supposed legal experts that sanctioned every single action that the administration took:

John Yoo, Jay Bybee and Albert Gonzales

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Yeah. Rumsfeld, Bush, Cheney, Rice...The whole lot of them will, I believe, eventually be held accountable - if not by a jury of their peers, then by history. No one, and I mean no one is immuned from history's dispassionate glare. The most jaw-dropping aspect of this administration's arrogance has always been their obvious belief that they are so immuned. That is why, moments after taking the oath of office on 20 January 2001, the oaf of office issued an executive order indefinately sealing the papers of not only his father's administration but Ronald Reagan's as well. He doesn't want history to know. Sorry, George. History knows.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
The Rant" by Tom Degan

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Why isn't this spelled out very clearly in the main stream media? What does it take?
I sent an email to a large number of media outlets (500+) about removing the last line from the Pledge of Allegiance because it is no longer true. You would think at least one would respond with "you know, you are right."

If anyone wants to send something to the media here is a great list I obtained from DailyKos. It's in 3 parts due to space restrictions.

Set 1: Primarily National Television News media

countdown@msnbc.com, KOlbermann@msnbc.com, CJ@MSNBC.com, JTrippi@MSNBC.com, hardball@msnbc.com, abramsreport@msnbc.com, dshuster@msnbc.com, dennis.sullivan@msnbc.com, norville@msnbc.com, joe@msnbc.com, msnbcinvestigates@msnbc.com, feedback@msnbc.com, rreagan@msnbc.com, viewerservices@msnbc.com, brian.williams@msnbc.com, imus@msnbc.com, chris.matthews@msnbc.com, msnbcreports@msnbc.com, today@nbc.com, info@cnbc.com, dateline@nbc.com, nightly@nbc.com, MTP@nbc.com, tom.lea@nbc.com, steve.majors@nbc.com, susan.dutcher@nbc.com, rod.prince@nbc.com, jonathan.wald@nbc.com, lisa.hsia@nbc.com, betsy.fischer@nbc.com, mtp@nbc.com, NETAUDR@abc.com, 2020@abc.com, nightline@abcnews.com, wnn@abcnews.com, support@abcnews.go.com, niteline@abc.com, abc.news.magazines@abc.com, phil.boyce@abc.com, thisweek@abc.com, mimi.gurbst@abc.com, mark.nelson@abc.com, virginia.moseley@abc.com, penny.britell@abc.com, muriel.pearson@abc.com, sharon.newman@abc.com, meredith.white@abc.com, gil.pimentel@abc.com, stu.schutzman@abc.com, evening@cbsnews.com, earlyshow@cbs.com, 48hours@cbsnews.com, ftn@cbsnews.com, 60m@cbsnews.com, thismorning@cbsnews.com, bpc@cbsnews.com, dij@cbsnews.com, efm@cbsnews.com, mkx@cbsnews.com, pma@cbsnews.com, rbc@cbsnews.com, sundays@cbsnews.com, grain@cbsnews.com, realitycheck@cbsnews.com, pls@cbsnews.com, pjh@cbsnews.com, wolf@cnn.com, 360@cnn.com, aaron.brown@turner.com, Paula.Zahn2@cnn.com, crossfire@cnn.com, daybreak@cnn.com, jeff.greenfield@cnn.com, livefrom@cnn.com, loudobbs@cnn.com, newsnight@cnn.com, tom.hannon@cnn.com, wam@cnn.com, livetoday@cnn.com, am@cnn.com, andrea.koppel@turner.com, bill.schneider@turner.com, bruce.morton@turner.com, carol.lin@turner.com, daryn.kagan@turner.com, david.ensor@turner.com, jeanne.meserve@turner.com, jim.walton@turner.com, deirdre.walsh@turner.com, kelly.wallace@turner.com, kyra.phillips@turner.com, lou.dobbs@turner.com, miles.obrien@turner.com, paula.zahn@turner.com, candy.crowley@turner.com

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

For the last 6 years I was ashamed of my government, and ashamed of the way so called Christians were acting. Now I hope that a new spirit will prevail, and I don't want it to be a spirit of let's get um. Please just let the jackass live with himself and his karma. Revenge is mine sayeth the lord, lets get on with getting those kids from being blown up daily in Iraq (why do we just mention the dead how about the thousands of maimed) let's address our defecit, our debt to foreign nations is mammoth. Lets address global warming and alternative fuels,our aging infrastructure, civil rights destruction, health care of the poor, weak, disabled and elderly. Above all let's be postive. If we need hearings to address issues of corrupution hold them in Congress and let all Americans see and hear what happened, but make them short and to the point and get on with the business of pulling our nation out of the blackest and deepest hole we've ever been in... It's going to take a united America to do this. To seek revenge and insist on war crimes will divided the country and just create deeper and uglier wounds than we already have.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Not widely reported here in the US (I saw it in the excellent news-digest magazine "The Week") but reports out of Paraguay indicate that Poppy "41" Bush has purchased a huge estate in that country (which still refused to extradidte indicted war criminals). The press in Paraguay also reports that Jenna Bush was down there recently, apparently trying to convince the head honchos to continue their non-extradition policy.

Just wonder how many seats are reserved on that last plane to Paraguay? Idiot Son, Rummy, Chenney, Gonzles, Yoo, Gates????

Interesting, indeed!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Padilla's Brief details the treatment to which he was subjected:

In an effort to gain Mr. Padilla’s "dependency and trust," he was tortured for nearly the entire three years and eight months of his unlawful detention. The torture took myriad forms, each designed to cause pain, anguish, depression and, ultimately, the loss of will to live. The base ingredient in Mr. Padilla’s torture was stark isolation for a substantial portion of his captivity.
For nearly two years – from June 9, 2002 until March 2, 2004, when the Department of Defense permitted Mr. Padilla to have contact with his lawyers – Mr. Padilla was in complete isolation. Even after he was permitted contact with counsel, his conditions of confinement remained essentially the same.

He was kept in a unit comprising sixteen individual cells, eight on the upper level and eight on the lower level, where Mr. Padilla’s cell was located. No other cells in the unit were occupied. His cell was electronically monitored twenty-four hours a day, eliminating the need for a guard to patrol his unit. His only contact with another person was when a guard would deliver and retrieve trays of food and when the government desired to interrogate him.

His isolation, furthermore, was aggravated by the efforts of his captors to maintain complete sensory deprivation. His tiny cell – nine feet by seven feet – had no view to the outside world. The door to his cell had a window, however, it was covered by a magnetic sticker, depriving Mr. Padilla of even a view into the hallway and adjacent common areas of his unit. He was not given a clock or a watch and for most of the time of his captivity, he was unaware whether it was day or night, or what time of year or day it was.

In addition to his extreme isolation, Mr. Padilla was also viciously deprived of sleep. This sleep deprivation was achieved in a variety of ways. For a substantial period of his captivity, Mr. Padilla’s cell contained only a steel bunk with no mattress. The pain and discomfort of sleeping on a cold, steel bunk made it impossible for him to sleep. Mr. Padilla was not given a mattress until the tail end of his captivity. . . .

Other times, his captors would bang the walls and cell bars creating loud startling noises. These disruptions would occur throughout the night and cease only in the morning, when Mr. Padilla’s interrogations would begin. Efforts to manipulate Mr. Padilla and break his will also took the form of the denial of the few benefits he possessed in his cell. . . .

Mr. Padilla’s dehumanization at the hands of his captors also took more sinister forms. Mr. Padilla was often put in stress positions for hours at a time. He would be shackled and manacled, with a belly chain, for hours in his cell. Noxious fumes would be introduced to his room causing his eyes and nose to run. The temperature of his cell would be manipulated, making his cell extremely cold for long stretches of time. Mr. Padilla was denied even the smallest, and most personal shreds of human dignity by being deprived of showering for weeks at a time, yet having to endure forced grooming at the whim of his captors.

A substantial quantum of torture endured by Mr. Padilla came at the hands of his interrogators. In an effort to disorient Mr. Padilla, his captors would deceive him about his location and who his interrogators actually were. Mr. Padilla was threatened with being forcibly removed from the United States to another country, including U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he was threatened his fate would be even worse than in the Naval Brig.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

He was threatened with being cut with a knife and having alcohol poured on the wounds. He was also threatened with imminent execution. He was hooded and forced to stand in stress positions for long durations of time. He was forced to endure exceedingly long interrogation sessions, without adequate sleep, wherein he would be confronted with false information, scenarios, and documents to further disorient him. Often he had to endure multiple interrogators who would scream, shake, and otherwise assault Mr. Padilla.

Additionally, Mr. Padilla was given drugs against his will, believed to be some form of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or phencyclidine (PCP), to act as a sort of truth serum during his interrogations.

Throughout most of the time Mr. Padilla was held captive in the Naval Brig he had no contact with the outside world. In March 2004, one year and eight months after arriving in the Naval Brig, Mr. Padilla was permitted his first contact with his attorneys. Even thereafter, although Mr. Padilla had access to counsel, and thereby some contact with the outside world, those visits were extremely limited and restricted. . . .

The deprivations, physical abuse, and other forms of inhumane treatment visited upon Mr. Padilla caused serious medical problems that were not adequately addressed. Apart from the psychological damage done to Mr. Padilla, there were numerous health problems brought on by the conditions of his captivity. Mr. Padilla frequently experienced cardiothoracic difficulties while sleeping, or attempting to fall asleep, including a heavy pressure on his chest and an inability to breath or move his body.

In one incident Mr. Padilla felt a burning sensation pulsing through his chest. He requested medical care but was given no relief. Toward the end of his captivity, Mr. Padilla experienced swelling and pressure in his chest and arms. He was administered an electrocardiogram, and given medication. . . . .

The cause of some of the medical problems experienced by Mr. Padilla is obvious. Being cramped in a tiny cell with little or no opportunity for recreation and enduring stress positions and shackling for hours caused great pain and discomfort. It is unclear, though, whether Mr. Padilla’s cardiothoracic problems were a symptom of the stress he endured in captivity, or a side effect from one of the drugs involuntarily induced into Mr. Padilla’s system in the Naval Brig. In either event, the strategically applied measures suffered by Mr. Padilla at the hands of the government caused him both physical and psychological pain and agony.

It is worth noting that throughout his captivity, none of the restrictive and inhumane conditions visited upon Mr. Padilla were brought on by his behavior or by any actions on his part. There were no incidents of Mr. Padilla violating any regulation of the Naval Brig or taking any aggressive action towards any of his captors. Mr. Padilla has always been peaceful and compliant with his captors. He was, and remains to the time of this filing, docile and resigned – a model detainee.

Mr. Padilla also wants to make clear that the deprivation described above did abate somewhat once counsel began negotiating with the officials of the Naval Brig for the improvements of his conditions. Toward the end of Mr. Padilla’s captivity in the Naval Brig he was provided reading materials and some other more humane treatment. However, despite some improvement in Mr. Padilla’s living conditions, the interrogations and torture continued even after the visits with counsel commenced.

In sum, many of the conditions Mr. Padilla experienced were inhumane and caused him great physical and psychological pain and anguish.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Personally, I think it highly unlikely impeachment will result, even if investigations are held. The Dems just haven't the stomach. And the American public hasn't got the attention span to warrant the news coverage. It would be wonderful, though, if Bush,Cheney, et al were held to account. It would go a long way to purge the guilt of the American public and the government if we admitted to our sins and punished the criminals.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

THE BUSH REGIME IS SATURATED WITH TRAITORS WHO HAVE TAKEN OUR COUNTRY INTO THE PITS OF HELL. WE INSISTED ON NAZIS IN GERMANY BEING PUNISHED. BUT THESE CRIMES ARE EVEN WORSE AND LESS EXCUSABLE IN THE U.S. AND WE NEED A NEW DEMOCRATIC LEADER WHO CARES ABOUT JUSTICE. HOW CAN PELOSI SLEEP NIGHTS ALLOWING TORTURERS AND MURDERERS TO CONTINUE IN THEIR HEINOUS CRIMES? SHE'S NOT MAN ENOUGH TO BE DEMOCRATIC LEADER. THE MOST DESPICABLE CRIMES IN U.S. HISTORY AND PELOSI WANTS TO PLAY "CHICKEN LITTLE" ! ! ! AMERICA NEEDS CLEANING UP!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

We sentenced Japanese for this
The torture of waterboarding, then and now
Drop by Drop: Forgetting the History of Water Torture in U.S. Courts (pdf)

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Sadly there is no way to deny that any torture, whether mild or severe, is a war crime. We do need to hand over our chain of leaders who allowed or encouraged the use of torture to Europeans courts for judgment. We also need to consider setting free, and restoring low level guards who were acting under orders from above whether those orders were formalized or not. A guard in a military prison can not deviate from what is demanded from his superiors. Those superiors should have protested loudly and publicly that the administration sought the use of torture and humiliation. The US has humiliated itself by these war crimes.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

ARTICLE 25
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

911TRUTH MOVEMENT IS THE TRUE OPPOSITION TO THE PNAC

BUILDING 7 WAS NOT HIT BY A PLANE YET WENT DOWN BY CONTROLLED DEMOLITION LATER THAT DAY

911TRUTH MOVEMENT IS THE ONLY WAY TO DEFEAT THESE EVIL PEOPLE----BOTH RIGHT AND LEFT

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Really "lets win this thing" does not sound like a strategy to me. In fact, I am not sure what "win" constitutes when it comes to Iraq. Nor am I sure what or who "thing" is. I do know this: 603,000 total lives have been lost in the name of "winning this thing," and 600,000 of those who lost their lives get to be called "collateral damage."

I would like to see the American public back the execution of Saddam Hussein for killing between 30,000 to 60,000 Iraqi people for whatever reason, without coming to the conclusion we have did worse in the name of "winning this thing."

All loss of life has one thing in common: it's over. This country and other countries that seem to hold their military objectives above humane responsibility have missed a very important consideration. You can't kill innocent people in the name of something stupid.

In WWII, the situation was different. This is no WWII. In fact, the reason for this Iraqi war was generated for less than emergency reasons. No, the first order of business should not be oversight. It should be to stop the killing in our name and put substance to the objective "lets win this thing."

Joseph

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]