The reason President Obama will not prosecute.

[Jesus Malverde]

He himself is open to charges because of the indiscriminate killing of civilians through his drone program.

President Obama as Commander in Chief has approved/participated in the murder of civilians in Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, and beyond.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/obama-drone-strikes/

Many of those killed had nothing to do with terrorism and many of the murdered were women and children.

http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/namingthedead/?lang=en

[JoePhilly]

1. How does he become more open to such charges?

Clearly you are making such charges right now.

[Jesus Malverde]

3. Charges in a court of law or if we were signatories to it.

The international tribunal in the hague.

I don't think he's sweating that I call him out for running a fleet of robotic flying killing machines that are somewhat indiscriminate and kill innocents.

[JoePhilly]

5. But those potential charges do not change based on any torture charges for Bush.

Do they?

You are confusing things.

You are suggesting that Obama is concerned that HE will be brought to the Hague for drone strikes ... in what way does how Obama deals with Bush/Cheney impact the laws that the Hague would use against Obama in your scenario?

Answer: Not at all.

Bush and Cheney's actions, and Obama's actions, are independent.

Obama prosecuting Bush, or not prosecuting Bush, has ZERO effect on that reality.

[Jesus Malverde]

6. Accountability for one sets the precedent going forward.

By ignoring the past, they can count on ignoring that past with the next administration as well.

[JoePhilly]

8. No they don't.

Torture, and the use of Drones, are legally speaking .... DIFFERENT.

You might as well argue that Murder 1, Murder 2, manslaughter, depraved indifference, negligent homicide, and other lesser charges are unnecessary because ... its all Murder 1.

Torture is what you do to a prisoner. And it is always wrong.

A drone strike is a method of attacking an enemy. And so, if you are in a war, clearly the use of a drone is no different than the use of a tank ... its a long range weapon, and it use may at times kill a civilian. Or should we have been prosecuting FDR in WWII for using tanks?

So while torture is ALWAYS wrong and illegal, the use of Drones is NOT.

Now, you have to get into WHY drones were used and where. Yemen has asked us to help them. So has Iraq. So has Pakistan. So now legally speaking, YOU have to work out the issues there.

Clinton used cruise missiles ... should be prosecute him?

My point here is not to defend drones and cruse missles in all cases ... but to demonstrate that your initial premise fails.

Torture is wrong, under all cases. Drones, tanks, cruise missiles, legally speaking, are not.

Trying torture sets NO PRECEDENT relative to drones, cruise missiles, or tanks.

[grasswire]

9. why do you think Reagan and Bush Sr. were never prosecuted for their crimes? nt

[Jake Stern]

10. I can't understand how some airman at Nellis

can blow up a wedding party outside Sana'a with a drone, killing women and children, and then go off duty and meet his girl for dinner and the 7:30 show like he was only playing some video game.

[Jesus Malverde]

12. The monsters

They live among us.

[99th_Monkey]

2. That really does make sense.

And I have no doubt that some RWers would insist on that, as payback if nothing else.

[RiverLover]

4. Or, it's the torture under his watch

at Guantanamo Bay.

...leading human rights groups, including the United Nations Committee Against Torture, International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Medical Association, have accused the Obama administration of continuing a similar practice at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/force-feeding-gitmo-obamas-torture-debate/story?id=27531783

[Jesus Malverde]

7. None of this is happening in a vacuum.

The report is all about the CIA, clearly the crimes are systemic throughout the national security apparatus including the pentagon.

[Odin2005]

11. If we went by Nuremburg, every Post-WW2 president should have been/should be hanged.

And yes, that includes Jimmy.

[Scuba]

13. Rethugs will likely try him for war crimes as soon as they control the White House.