Will Bush's Torture Memo Team Face Justice in Spain?

[babsbunny]

http://www.thenation.com/blog/157654/will-bushs-torture-memo-team-face-justice-spain

There may yet be justice for the victims of the post-9/11 US torture program. Just not in the United States.

Here, our previous president is enjoying terrific sales for a memoir where he boasts about having authorized waterboarding. The current administration's commitment to "moving past" the illegalities incurred on its predecessor's watch is so hardcore that the Department of Justice decided late last year against prosecuting anyone from the CIA for destroying ninety-two videotapes that showed the torture of prisoners detained as suspected terrorists. Which leaves Attorney General Eric Holder more time to subpoena Twitter records and figure out how to criminalize Julian Assange and WikiLeaks for promoting government transparency.

[sabrina 1]

1. Wikileaks documents show that this administration

influenced Spain to drop the prosecutions. I don't think they dropped them, but airc, they didn't continue to pursue them. However there have been calls from human rights for Spain to continue with the prosecutions. I hope they do.

[gratuitous]

2. If we don't hold our own accountable, someone else surely will

It could be Spain, through a process that observes legal and procedural niceties. That would be the best alternative, I suppose, though we really should be doing it ourselves.

Or, it could be someone else, not even a legally-constituted government, but just an ad hoc group, that decides to enact a rough justice against the United States for its crimes. The chances are, however, that such a group would not observe rules of evidence and procedure, and would simply move directly to punishment for crimes, real and rumored. And instead of being particularly careful to punish just the wrongdoers, they might be a little more indiscriminate. As a proud citizen of the land of the free and the home of the brave, you don't really mind if you or a friend, relative or other loved one pays the ultimate price for the crimes committed under the previous administration?

[AndyTiedye]

3. The International Criminal Court in the Hague Was Created for People Like Them

There is a prison there too:

[GreenStormCloud]

4. Nope. The U.S. will refuse to extradite.

They may be restricted to stay in the U.S. That is not exactly a severe punishment, since most Americans never leave the country either.

[Octafish]

5. Oh. Happy Day.

War criminals facing justice. What a concept.