War Crimes

If you are going to stand up as an example of what is right and good then you have to walk the walk as well as talk the talk.

From the Associated Press and Herald-Leader:

President Bush says he has no doubts about launching the unpopular war in Iraq despite the "high cost in lives and treasure,"……..

At least 3,990 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the war in 2003. It has cost taxpayers about $500 billion and estimates of the final tab run far higher. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglizt and Harvard University public finance expert Linda Bilmes have estimated the eventual cost at $3 trillion when all the expenses, including long-term care for veterans, are calculated.

I’m not going to go into the long list of the Bush administration short comings but I would ask you to consider the proposition that George Bush is a war criminal.

From the Cornell Law School:

United States Code TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 118 > § 2441

(a) Offense.— Whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, commits a war crime, in any of the circumstances described in subsection (b), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.

(b) Circumstances.— The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are that the person committing such war crime or the victim of such war crime is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States or a national of the United States (as defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act).


(c) Definition.— As used in this section the term “war crime” means any conduct—

(1) defined as a grave breach in any of the international conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party;


George Bush as Commander and Chief is part of the Armed forces of the United States and we would hope the President is considered a U.S. national.

From the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War:

To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment;

Let’s consider the Bush’s stand on torture:

Democrats and human rights advocates criticized President Bush's veto Saturday of a bill that would have banned the CIA from using simulated drowning and other coercive interrogation methods to gain information from suspected terrorists.

Here are some details on the CIA interrogation techniques. Maybe I’ve just lived my comfortable middle class life style too long, but this sure sounds like torture to me.

As for outrages upon personal dignity do I need to say more than Abu Ghraib?

Obviously I’m not well versed in international law, but this comes under my duck rule. If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck and smells like a duck, it’s probably a duck.