U.N. special rapporteur on torture calls on U.S. to prosecute Bush and Rumsfeld.

[BlueJessamine]

Source: Think Progress

In remarks that aired on German television last night, Manfred Nowak, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, urged the U.S. to pursue former President George W. Bush and defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld on charges that they authorized torture and other harsh interrogation techniques:

"Judicially speaking, the United States has a clear obligation” to bring proceedings against Bush and Rumsfeld. <…> He noted Washington had ratified the UN convention on torture which required “all means, particularly penal law” to be used to bring proceedings against those violating it.

“We have all these documents that are now publicly available that prove that these methods of interrogation were intentionally ordered by Rumsfeld,” against detainees at the US prison facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Nowak said.

Indeed, a bipartisan Senate report released last month found that Rumsfeld “bore major responsibility” for abuses committed at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and other military detention centers. Just last week, a Bush administration official overseeing Gitmo trials said Rumsfeld approved the torture of one particular detainee. Bush himself said last year that he was aware of his advisers’ discussions on torture and recently admitted that he personally authorized waterboarding Kalid Sheik Muhammad.


Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/21/un-bush-rumsfeld-torture/

[dipsydoodle]

1. I sure do hope its stopped now

Perpetuation of a crime is conspiracy.

[bobd0]

2. Whether it's stopped now or not we and the world all know what took place

The law must be upheld. Failure to hold those who committed these crimes responsible is complicity.

K&R

[tridim]

5. If BushCo is innocent then they have nothing to worry about.

;)

[xocet]

3. Indeed...

It is critical to the rule of law to investigate and prosecute Bush and his minions.

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Wow. I Seriously Did Not Think This Would Happen.

I didn't think that the outside world would try to force Obama's hand. This will be a conundrum for Obama.

[OVERPAID01]

6. Let's not forget to charge the "contractors"

The crimes against humanity and the violations of the geneva convention goes well beyond the three stooges (Cheny, Bush and Rumsfeld). Private contractors were in charge of our military prisons in Iraq and should be bought before the world courts immediately.

[mmonk]

7. I don't think the beltway realized they couldn't just sweep it all under

the rug. They thought they could be home free once power exchanged hands.

[Raphae1]

8. German TV report with english subtitles

Here is the German TV report, in which UN Special Rapporteur speaks out on the US torture policy.
This version has optional english subtitles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQXGH-OFPWE

Americans should see that too.