'[W]ithout any question, [Rumsfeld] has committed War Crimes' [VIDEO]

Posted by Evan Derkacz at 10:50 AM on November 10, 2006.

In this Democracy Now! interview (Video right), the Center For Constitutional Rights' Michael Ratner says of outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld:

So this guy has committed -- without any question, this guy has committed war crimes, violations of the Geneva Conventions.

Because the recently passed Military Commissions Act (aka: The Torture Act) included immunity for all administration officials from war crimes prosecution, the CCR is initiating a case in German courts next week, "under their law, which is universal jurisdiction, which basically says a torturer is essentially an enemy of all humankind and can be brought to justice wherever they’re found."

Ratner calls him the next Henry Kissinger, due to Kissinger's inability to leave the homeland for fear of prosecution. Watch the whole clip and digg it for maximum exposure...

Bonus: Though he's not optimistic that any international body will take the case, Former State Dept. and CIA analyst Melvin Goodman says:

Well, I think the record is quite clear. War crimes have been committed. Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld combined to sponsor the memos by John Yoo and Jay Bybee and others to sanction torture. CIA officials have committed war crimes. DOD officials have committed war crimes. If you look at the three decisions of the Supreme Court -- Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, Rasul v. Bush -- clearly laws have been broken, serious laws have been broken.

Tagged as: geneva conventions, rumsfeld, war crimes

Evan Derkacz is an AlterNet editor. He writes and edits PEEK, the blog of blogs.