Will bringing the BFEE to justice have any impact on America's standing

[gristy]

in the world? It seems to me that the crimes and murders being committed in Iraq and the many lies which had been and are being used to justify the invasion and occupation of Iraq are creating a situation where the American People and its new government as of next January just may be well-advised to indict the BFEE's players and bring them to justice (jail time? exile?).

First off, do you think it's going to happen?
Second, what you think would be the impact on the world and the U.S. if it happens and what do you think the impact would be if it doesn't?

[Nite Owl]

1. Think it would put us back in good standing but

I really do doubt it will happen. Washington is such a happy little scratch my back I'll scratch yours group.

[Pobeka]

2. If we don't indict the BFEE, we will not be respected anymore.

Failure to indict, more importantly failure to bring charges, will make us look like partisan power grabbers. If it's important now that this evil be stopped, it is just as important after the elections to bring the evil doer's to justice. This time, the evil doer's are the Bush cabal.

[0rganism]

3. Won't happen, but might not be helpful if it did

BFEE is untouchable: too powerful, too well-connected, too popular. Even if some legal action were started, there are a lot of stool pigeons and loyalists standing in the way of getting to the key players. It would take something akin to McCarthy's HUAC to root them all out; the stench of the process would likely nullify any possible benefits of the result.

Should Kerry win the election, there will be a serious need for national reconciliation. Without it, JFK may go the way of his acronymal predecessor. Remember, too, that the legislative branch is very much under the control of GOP hardliners. Indicting large segments of the previous administration would not do a damn thing to further stability, and Kerry would be tempted to pardon them on this basis alone.

That said, there are other meaningful actions a Kerry administration could take to raise the USA out of the international doghouse. Bringing full UN oversight to the Iraqi transition would be a start. If the USA signed on with the ICC and a few other common sense treaties (land mine ban, chemical weapons ban), we'd be well on our way. Of course, Kerry will need a cooperative Senate to work these angles.