Posted on 02/02/2005 12:02:12 AM PST by Stoat
Rumsfeld considers war crime prosecution riskConcern that US leaders and military personnel risk prosecution in Germany for alleged war crimes has become a factor in deciding whether US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will attend an international security conference in Munich, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday. US defence secretaries have rarely missed the Munich conference, an annual gathering of the world's top defence and national security officials and experts for two days of frank debate on major issues of war and peace. Mr Rumsfeld has announced no plans to attend this year's meeting from February 11-13 even though he will be attending a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Nice, France just before it. Pentagon spokesman Lawrence DiRita said it remains to be determined whether Mr Rumsfeld will attend the Munich meeting. The meeting's organiser, Horst Teltschik, said last month Mr Rumsfeld was not going. Mr Rumsfeld was among 10 high-ranking US civilian and military officials named in a criminal complaint filed November 30 with a German federal prosecutor by a US legal rights group seeking an investigation into the Americans' role in the torture and abuse of detainees in Iraq. Under Germany's Code of Crimes Against International Law, which was introduced in 2002, German courts have universal jurisdiction in war crimes and crimes against humanity. Acknowledging US concern about the German law, Mr DiRita told AFP, "It's a factor in the decision" on whether Rumsfeld attends the Munich conference. "It's not just a question of the secretary's travel. We have many thousands of US forces stationed there, some of which are named in this brief. So it's a big, big problem," he said. He said the issue was being "worked on a government-wide basis". "My impression is the German Government understands the gravity of this matter, but there are some unique aspects that will take time to address," he said. A Berlin newspaper reported last week that the German federal prosecutor opted not to take legal action against Mr Rumsfeld because no German citizen was a victim of abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison. The New York-based Centre For Constitution Rights, which filed the initial complaint, said on Friday it has filed new documents in the case, contending that attorney-general nominee Alberto Gonzalez had implicated himself in war crimes in Iraq, including torture at Abu Ghraib, in his Senate confirmation testimony. |
So I guess Germany's interest is to get their asses kicked?
If he were to go and get arrested I would hope we would immediately send the necessary forces to extract him and do it without official comment of any sort. American Left elation would turn to exasperated rage overnight. It would be wonderful to watch.
I will not know that.
HUH?
The Center for Constitutional Rights Has Germany Investigate America
excerpts:
In a blatant attempt to undermine the American war effort in Iraq and to damage and embarrass the United States in the eyes of the world, a leftist American legal organization filed a criminal complaint yesterday in a German court to have ten, high-ranking American military and political leaders put on trial in Germany for crimes against humanity and human rights violations committed at Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison.
~snip~
CCR President Michael Ratner, who has a long affiliation with radical causes, said at a news conference in Berlin yesterday that American military and political leaders from Donald Rumsfeld on down must be investigated and held accountable, since the United States has refused to investigate those at the top in connection with the case.
I refuse to know that.
I apologize. I read your tagline.
Note to ABC "news"; it's "Gonzales" with an "s" at the end.
I deny what you have said is true. I think the German prosecutor is busily preparing to charge Rumsfeld, even if he needs the German Army to invade America to do it.
Both points are relevant. The fact of who filed and the fact it wasn't booted out of their court system both are important points.
I wonder if the radicals in Germany would arrest Wesley Clark or Bill Clinton if they went to Germany? They never had UN approval for their little adventure in Kosovo either.
We need to strike pre-emptively.
Rummy should order every GI and every last piece of military hardware we have in Germany back to the States.
LOL - as I said before, you have watched way too many Hollywood-movies. ;-)
No. This is a bonafide dem whacko group that is headed by Michael Ratner (and no, McCain and Kristol are not part of that).
The radicals? They surely would. They even call our Defense Minister a Minister for War.
You are a paid German propagandist who's role it is to lull me to a false sense of calm.
Then the German paratroops start descending from the skies.
Then come the panzers.
Don't think I'm not on to you, Fritz!
Laz, Come on, give Michael a break.
I have many different opinions from Michael, However, on this one I have to defend him. Michael is one of the more reasonable Germans here and has been posting for a long time.
Idiots and radicals are found the world over. While I am a (very) Euroskeptic and am very concerned about the situation there, we should not try to drown out the more reasonable voices internationally.
On many occasions, Michael and I just have to agree to disagree.
He is one of the good guys though.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.