Bush Visits Canada: Will He Be Arrested for War Crimes?

By Garrett Zehr, The Tyee. Posted March 17, 2009.

For some, this interview dampened hopes of the probability of Obama opening an investigation.

Most Americans want torture investigated

"In terms of likelihood, I think the indication right now would be that he would be disinclined to look into a criminal prosecution," said Vincent Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, a New York-based non-profit legal advocacy organization.

The group is calling for an independent investigation and criminal prosecution of Bush administration officials as part of its 100 Days to Restore the Constitution campaign. Warren said he believes these types of proceedings are necessary to send a message of an end to impunity.

"If there are criminal prosecutions for the actions -- that will have the strongest deterrent effect," he said.

Close to two-thirds of Americans favor an investigation into the use of torture tactics by the Bush administration, according to a late-January USA Today/Gallup poll. Thirty-eight per cent of those surveyed said they wanted a criminal investigation while another quarter preferred an independent panel without criminal charges.

"I think that there is significant support from the American people," Warren said. "We as a nation, the United States, cannot move forward... until there's meaningful accountability within the U.S. of the government officials that put forth these crimes," he said. Warren supports using universal jurisdiction laws at any time if that is what is required.

"The preference of course is to have it done within the United States but failing that, if the Obama administration refuses to do that, we would call on the international community," he said, adding that Canada is well within its jurisdiction to prosecute. "It is an independent sovereign and it can move forward as it sees fit."

Calgary, Bush country?

The choice of location for one of Bush's first post-presidency visits was not surprising to local activists.

"It is quite significant that Calgary is the heart of Big Oil in Canada and the heart of conservatism also," said Tavis Ford, part of the protest's organizing committee. "If anywhere on earth is going to welcome Bush it is going to be in Calgary, unfortunately," he said.

Organizers of the protest are hoping to use this choice of location to reveal the widespread public opinion seeking prosecution.

"People all around the world are going to see that in the conservative heartland... that there isn't support, that there is demand for justice and an end to impunity."

Those protesting Bush's visit are willing to concede that an arrest and prosecution today are quite unlikely.

"It's not going to happen," said Ford. "But we do need to make a strong case for it and make it known that he's not welcome here."

Advocates hope that the protest events in Calgary are building blocks towards the ultimate goal of seeing Bush arrested.

"This is not going to be our only opportunity," said Byers, pointing to the long amount of time before any action was taken against Pinochet. "He wasn't arrested until 25 years after the alleged atrocities occurred and Mr. Bush is a pretty healthy man."

'Some kind of remedy': Lawyers Against the War

Lawyers Against the War is currently in consultation with other international legal groups, planning the best strategy for bringing Bush administration officials to justice.

"We want to think of where we have the best opportunity of making those tries," said Davidson. "That may well be in some other jurisdiction," she said. "Prosecutions and investigations are not going to happen unless there is a great deal of public pressure."

She said she is confident people everywhere are beginning to understand the need for bringing Bush administration officials to justice and are voicing their opinions.

"How we move on is by ensuring that the wrongs of the past don't occur in the future and those who were wronged by past behavior have some kind of remedy, that they have some kind of justice. The need for that is not only basic to the legal system but basic to human nature."

And while it may have once been thought impossible to try a former American president for war crimes, advocates are saying recent events have given them hope.

"I never thought I would live to see an African-American president elected in the United States," said Warren.

See more stories tagged with: war crimes, arrest, george bush, canada, calgary

Garrett Zehr is a reporter for The Tyee.

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