Amnesty urges African nations to arrest George Bush

[Bosonic]

Source: AFP

LUSAKA — Amnesty International on Thursday urged Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia to arrest former US president George W. Bush for violating international torture laws, during his African tour this week.

Bush is touring the countries through to Monday to promote efforts to fight cervical and breast cancers, and Amnesty said the three nations have an obligation to arrest him under international law.

"All countries to which George W. Bush travels have an obligation to bring him to justice for his role in torture," said Amnesty's senior legal adviser Matt Pollard.

"International law requires that there be no safe haven for those responsible for torture; Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia must seize this opportunity to fulfil their obligations and end the impunity George W. Bush has so far enjoyed."

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hC7GYFL0gU0tmMzMN6zeXFglXTww?docId=CNG.104a1c9e9c71e179b33042a465c95d6c.9a1

[Mnemosyne]

1. Thank heavens that someone knows to do the right thing. n/t

[tularetom]

2. A little international pressure on Obama wouldn't be a bad thing either

He hasn't exactly been in the forefront of opposition to Cheney/Bush torture policies.

But I'll bet he'd get off his ass and do something if he thought he too could be subject to prosecution for failure to deal with the abuses.

[No Elephants]

10. Failure to prosecute does violate the Convention Against Torture, to which the US is a party.

One of the provisions of the Convention requires party nations to enact domestic laws to enforce the convention. I don't know if we ever did that, though.

[emcguffie]

43. I think you can't actually ratify until you enact the legislation.

So, until you do that, enact the legislation that brings the country's laws into line with the requirements of the treaty, the country is not a party to the treaty. They may have signed it, but signing just signifies a country's intention to ratify. We signed the Rome Statute that established the ICC, but GWB unsigned it, which I think was a first.

I don't know if we're a party to the CAT or not.

[Tumbulu]

3. good job Amnesty!

[Gregorian]

4. Oh come on. Justice is for petty criminals.

But I'll recommend this out of some pathetic hope I have that some day the violations against us will be acknowledged.

[Bok_Tukalo]

5. They better not arrest the former President of the United States

The hammer of America will, and should, come down hard on any nation that tries that.

[kas125]

6. It should? Why? n/t

[Quantess]

38. Sarcastic?

Are you seriously saying he gets a pass just for being a former US president? He and Cheney both deserve prision time.

[tavalon]

40. Did you misplace this?

:sarcasm:

[Bragi]

7. Not bloody likely...

These countries are all tame, client states that Bush used for various purposes during his presidency. No surprise he is now using them to pretend he is welcome abroad.

http://www4.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Bush+Meets+President+Tanzania+e8W5_QOmuN6l.jpg

http://allafrica.com/stories/200802180207.html

[blkmusclmachine]

8. You couldn't be that evil, and still believe in HELL.

:evilgrin:

[loyalsister]

9. Not sure how just this would seem

after the hate groups mobilized.
If a country arrests a former president during an African American president's administration, the backlash here would be horrifying. There are still people who believe the birther BS and who believe there is a conspiracy to take over "white america." Many are militant gun enthusiasts whose hearts are filled with hate and assumptions.
The last thing that we need is for them to have something (like the first president to be arrested under international law) to "confirm" their suspicions. The fact that the country is African (as in the same continent where Obama was allegedly born) would give them even more assurance that they are correct in their beliefs.

[No Elephants]

11. Amnesty International has appeared on my credit card every month since

Obama announced he was not going to prosecute Bushco.

It's only a small amount, alas, but it has been a few years now.

I am proud to be a donor and wish it could be more.

[Uncle Joe]

12. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Bosonic.

[marias23]

13. As Malcolm X said:

"In the halls of justice, the only justice is in the halls."

[russspeakeasy]

14. I hate this phony bastard.

He owns the top three places in the top ten people I hate.
Amnesty International seems to be the only one with any scruples.

[Ignis]

15. K&R. We have abdicated our responsibility in this matter.

Here's hoping the rest of the world takes up the slack, for the good of future generations and the rule of law.

[War Horse]

16. And then what?

I've donated to Amnesty regularly for more than two decades, been to meetings since I was was 10, so please don't get me wrong.

But let's say someone takes W into custody. What would be the next move - realistically speaking?

[hue]

17. Arrest Bush during Africa trip: human rights group

Source: Chicago Tribune

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amnesty International on Thursday called on Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia to arrest former U.S. President George W. Bush for human rights abuse when he visits the region this month.

During his time as President from 2001 to 2009, Bush authorized the use of waterboarding and other interrogation techniques that Amnesty and other human rights groups consider torture.


"International law requires that there be no safe haven for those responsible for torture; Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia must seize this opportunity to fulfill their obligations and end the impunity George W. Bush has so far enjoyed," Matt Pollard, senior legal adviser, said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-amnesty-bushtre7b02iq-20111201,0,7054920.story

[Blue Owl]

18. Tack on a few years for this atrocity:

<>

[tavalon]

41. What a godawful person that dickweed is.

[saras]

19. I'd love to see not only him arrested, but justice served, in Africa, before anyone can get to them.

And I don't particularly care whether it's an official government body that does it or not.

What I really want to see publicized is first, is there a country that WILL arrest and try them, and second, how hard is it for bounty hunters to get them to that country?

[Nihil]

44. Turnabout is fair play.

[apocalypsehow]

20. Kick & Rec. n/t.

[Galraedia]

21. Amnesty International Calls For Bush's Arrest

Source: Addicting Info

http://news.yahoo.com/arrest-bush-during-africa-trip-human-rights-group-203952109.html">Reuters reports that Amnesty International has called for the arrest of George W. Bush during his visit to Africa later this month. The international civil rights group is claiming that the former President is guilty of human rights abuses for his authorization of the use of waterboarding and other torture techniques in his “War on Terror.”

Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/12/01/amnesty-international-calls-for-bush-arrest-fox-reacts

[Sinistrous]

22. The thought of bush being arrested warms my heart,

but my damn brain tells me it isn't going to happen.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

23. That a-hole belongs behind bars - now. nt

[Cali_Democrat]

27. +1000

[calimary]

32. +1,000,000!

Him and cheney both. Behind bars til they rot. Fitting end for unrepentent, even proud-of-what-they-did war criminals.

:puke:

[Lint Head]

24. If only.

[Politicalboi]

25. Why warn the asshole?

Just arrest him as he lands. I bet the coward stays home after this. But if for some reason he does go, he better take The Dick with him to do the talking.

[jwirr]

26. If that should actually come to pass I wonder what President Obama

would do? What reaction would the US government take?

[DeSwiss]

28. K&R

- Good things come to those who wait......

[Left Coast2020]

31. Waiting may be true for something good to happen.

But the whole world needs make the call for his arrest. But think of this: how good it would feel to wake up in the morning and see your morning paper: BUSH ARRESTED ON WAR CRIMES CHARGES. Just imagine how refreshing that would be. BTW, I love the photo.

[onwardsand upwards]

29. Bush war crimes are supreme

According to Justice Robert H. Jackson, the US Chief Counsel at the Nuremberg Trails, 1945:

“To initiate a war of aggression...is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime, differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole."

Bush initiated a war of aggression against Iraq. This attack was said to be "pre-emptive" in the same way that Germany's attack on Poland in 1939 was said to be "pre-emptive". Thus, Bush is a war criminal in the same way that Hitler was -- guilty of the "supreme international crime".

The fact that he lied about the reason for initiating the war makes it even worse.

The fact that his family and friends profited from the war makes it even worse.

We live in a raging inferno of injustice until this monster is caught and punished.

[Devil_Fish]

30. "Claiming"? He admitted it in a fucking book he wrote. K&R NT

[saras]

33. If someone indicates willingness to arrest and try, bounty hunters are next.

[Turborama]

34. Arrest Bush during Africa trip: human rights group

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amnesty International on Thursday called on Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia to arrest former U.S. President George W. Bush for human rights abuse when he visits the region this month.

During his time as President from 2001 to 2009, Bush authorized the use of waterboarding and other interrogation techniques that Amnesty and other human rights groups consider torture.

"International law requires that there be no safe haven for those responsible for torture; Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia must seize this opportunity to fulfill their obligations and end the impunity George W. Bush has so far enjoyed," Matt Pollard, senior legal adviser, said in a statement.

Bush has defended the use of waterboarding -- which simulates the sensation of drowning -- as key to preventing a repeat of the September 11 attacks on the United States. The U.S. Department of State had no immediate comment. Bush's spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

(Reporting by Edith Honan and Greg McCune)

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/arrest-bush-during-africa-trip-human-rights-group-203952109.html

[global1]

35. I Wonder How Our Media Would React To Bush Being Arrested?........

Would they be hailing it or would they be criticizing it?

[Kurmudgeon]

36. Both.

[Azathoth]

37. That's a can of worms no government is willing to open. n/t

[enigmaticang3l]

39. Bush, Cheney arrested

Until all the evils of that administration are corrected,
America cannot move forward.  During their rule, vocal
democrats/liberals and freethinkers were attacked with
impunity.  They had to have something to do with the
gangstalking and other torturous crimes against those against
their party and the war.  I knew something was very wrong with
our voting system when Bush hit elected the first time.  The
mire I have learned, the sicker I feel as we have become a
police state.  Why isn't Obama sticking to his campaign
promise concerning the Patriot Act?  Instead, we lose more
rights almost daily or discover some new method of
surveillance and censorship.

[tavalon]

42. I like Amnesty International

but this is grandstanding. If they truly wanted an arrest and not just some publicity, they would have kept their mouths shut and worked quietly with the countries in question.