Former President Bush is not going to Swiss jail any time soon, but the author of this particular Op- Ed (click the title) finds this action aimed toward Bush's prosecution on foreign soil quite ridiculous and in violation of basic rights granted by the Constitution of the United States. I have to agree with the author, David Frum who says the pursuit of jail time for Bush on Swiss soil on behalf of the American people for crimes committed while holding office is not only an attack on the former president but an attack on the "entire American legal system." Personally, I also find these actions on foreign soil to be a campaign to prosecute Bush and not a true stand for the human rights that they claim he violated. I also think it was the correct decision of the Obama administration to stay out of this whole incident considering the plethora of issues our country still needs to address. So what do you guys think? Is it a valid claim?
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
George W. Bush...guilty of war crimes?
Opponents of former President George W. Bush have long been calling for his prosecution in cases of war crimes during his presidency. These advocates have hoped that the Obama administration would pursue these charges. Unfortunately for them, the Obama administration has decided to stay out of this controversy. As a result, opponents of Bush have decided to take this "case" to Switzerland as of last week, before Bush's scheduled charity fundraiser in Geneva.
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7 comments:
I agree with Lewis on this one, it seems outrageous even insane for the Swiss to punish Former-President Bush on such an issue. The issue is taken to too far an extreme. If this action was carried out, as planned, the US would be seen as more or less fools. In a honesty, the Swiss have greater problems they should be dealing with. Their banks have quite a large effect on money laundering, usually allowing such actions to occur. For another country to jail a former President seems like its going too far. Besides, former President Bush did not personally deal the punishments, but instead authorized it (according to his memoir) because high CIA officials recommended him to take such actions.
I could see the Geneva Conventions being used as an excuse, but it should be the duty of that country to carry out the punishments. In addition Al Qaeda, Taliban, and other fighters(who never even approved such a treaty). Also, President Bush later acknowledged that these prisoners had to be treated according to those rules. Is that an unfair advantage?
Also, there are Presidents/Dictators performing much worse actions whether it be Saddam Hussein, Mubarak, Chairman Mao, Stalin, Castro, Kim Jong Il/Sun, among many others. Those violations were much, much worse.
It seems like a double standard if Mr. Bush was to be punished. Just because we can speak out, means our leaders suffer.
Though I think a lot of Bush's actions (and the PATRIOT Act) were/are violations of the Constitution, it's very foolish that we try to take this to other countries. It's an American issue that should be solved on American soil. I think justice should be served, and Americans may be offended by Bush's outrageous actions. But it is true that the Obama administration has a lot of other more pressing issues that affect Americans' lifestyles directly that should be taken care of first.
hmmm.. i dont know guys.
... although he was our president, he was the guy that democrats love to hate, and he does own part of the texas rangers.... to treat him with leniency would be treating him with a double standard, foreign soil or not. The Obama administration gotta whole lot more things to worry about than this sort of thing.
Was it as bad as what other people have done?... depends how you see it, but most people would say no when being compared to Saddam Hussein, but to be completely not responsible for... Guantanamo, torture interrogations, wire tapping... privacy intrusions by the Patriot Act, etc. would be "looking too far the other way".
U.S. did finish the war in Iraq.... and the side that wins usually writes history. wonder what history's gonna say bout this.
-Raymond Lim
I fail to see how the charges brought up in the indictment can be pressed seriously. Especially when international law has such a loose grip on anything and everything.
Bush's tactics were legitimate under United States law, and also, keep in mind that what was done was done to protect the safety of American citizens. It's easy to criticize things in 20/20 retrospect, but always remember that, sometimes, things outside the norm are necessary to keep us safe, and deep down inside we want that safety.
Finally, Obama was, in my opinion, incorrect in deciding to stay out of this situation. Yes, there are other things he should be discussing. But keep in mind that this is an ex AMERICAN PRESIDENT who's being indicted. To not show support and to let this atrocity continue would simply be a disgrace to our nation.
This seems to me like trying to punish Bush for doing something people didn't know was legal or illegal. In the link on the OP, the article states that Bush himself wanted to make sure that he was in compliance with the law on the torture issue. On that note, Bush should not really be prosecuted for war crimes when it was quite obvious that it was unclear of its legality. If anything else, people should of filed a lawsuit in court during the fact, or at least have the American system deal with it.
By filing a case with the Swiss, these people are undermining the integrity of the legal system. But I agree, the Swiss are probably going to ignore this completely.
I don't need to read the main post in order to know that some radical liberal has decided to disgrace the American Presidency as a whole and make a despicable trifle out of the justice system by abusing it. If anything, I hope that the plaintiff of this suit is SUED THE HECK OUT OF!! Stating that a President who spent his tenure as President of the United States of America trying to enforcing democracy and human rights, not only in this great nation but in other nations alike, is guilty of human rights violations is not only a frivolous but also disgraceful action which ultimately reflects a negative image on the nation as a whole.
Wow Timothy strong language, but I agree with some of your sentiments. If the American people really want to punish our ex president for making hard decisions in a difficult time then we should do it our selves. Letting the Swiss try our ex-PRESIDENT is a slap in the face for our nation. The only people who would have the jurisdiction to try Bush would be the Obama administration but because they are too busy with more important matters then we should all focus on those problems instead of getting distracted with Bush's trail in Switzerland.
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