High Crimes and Misdemeanors [View All]

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The Centre for Economic and Social Rights, an American human rights group, ... released a report called Beyond Torture: US Violations of Occupation Law in Iraq. The report, twenty eight pages of carefully researched documentation of the crimes committed by the Bush Administration in Iraq, is damning. The top ten list in the Executive Summary lists Failure to Allow Self-Determination, Failure to Provide Public Order and Safety, Unlawful Attacks, Unlawful Detention and Torture, Collective Punishment, Failure to Ensure Vital Services, Failure to Protect the Rights to Health and Life, Failure to Protect the Rights to Food and Education, Failure to Protect the Right to Work, and Fundamentally Changing the Economy.

Beyond Torture clearly points to the complete disregard for the law that has been exhibited by the Bush administration. The first paragraph of the conclusions reads, “This report is grounded in the assumption that the U.S. is not above the law, but rather should be bound and limited by law. Such limitation would have profound implications for Bush Administration policies in Iraq. International law forbids imperialism in any guise; forbids unilateral aggression in the guise of “pre-emptive” war; forbids military occupation in the guise of providing security; forbids hand-picking political leaders in the guise of promoting democracy; forbids economic pillage in the guise of reconstruction; forbids extraterritorial impunity for war crimes in the guise of establishing rule of law; and forbids criminalizing resistance in the guise of fighting terrorism. In essence, the entire thrust of U.S. policy in Iraq stands in contradiction to the post-World War II legal order and particularly the legal framework governing occupation.” It goes on to call for all war criminals, US and Iraqi, to be tried for their crimes and for the US to pay reparations.

That seems unlikely to happen at this point. The United States sought and received immunity from the ICC when it first came into being. To receive the immunity they vetoed further UN missions in Bosnia, basically blackmailing the rest of the Security Council into either backing them or abstaining from the vote. The Bush administration then revoked military aid to some 35 countries who would not issue a guarantee that US citizens would not be turned over to the International Criminal Court if the were suspected of committing war crimes.
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Our neighbour to the south has become the greatest threat to world peace and advancement. They have done so under the tutelage of those who consider profit for privately held companies to be more important than the rights and needs of people, yet they claim to be a democratic nation.
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http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php?story=20040614184239226