Bush plan would subject members of Congress to war crimes prosecution

[Rose Siding]

JURIST Guest Columnist Jordan Paust of the University of Houston Law Center says that minimum due process guarantees under customary international law must not be denied when Congress attempts to articulate forms of procedure for new US military commissions...

Members of Congress are thus on notice that minimum due process guarantees under customary international law must not be denied when Congress attempts to articulate what forms of procedure a military commission should adopt. If members participate in a plan to do so or are complicit in the deprivation of minimum due process guarantees under customary international law incorporated by reference in common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions or any other rights or protections under common Article 3 (e.g., concerning the right to humane treatment even at the hands of CIA interrogators), they would be participating in the denial of rights, protections, and duties under Geneva law. Such denials are war crimes.

Moreover, “wilfully depriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial prescribed in the ... Convention” constitutes a more egregious “grave breach” of Geneva law. Denial of what the world knows are minimum due process requirements would also resonate against us like the crimes at Abu Ghraib and the Administration’s criminal torture memos and authorizations.

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forumy/2006/09/plea-to-congress-on-military.php

via kos diary
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/9/16/101733/273

[texpatriot2004]

1. Oh look, then the Cover-Up Congress would be officially

complicit in the crimes of * and his cronies.

[Monkeyman]

3. Don't forget he covering his own butt too

[bluerum]

2. Good. Let this criminal administration hang for its crimes.

[Rose Siding]

4. Minimum guarantees include:

"...the right to be tried before a regularly constituted, competent, independent, and impartial court; to be presumed innocent; to counsel of one’s choice and to effective representation; to regular and fair procedure, including regular and fair rules of evidence, the right to examine or have examined witnesses against the accused, to be tried without undue delay, and to not be compelled to testify against oneself or to confess guilt; and to review by a competent, independent, and impartial court of law."

The right to be presumed innocent? Just yesterday, the gops started calling military tribunals, "terrorist tribunals". Article 3 violations are just one of their worries.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. Recommended. nt

[glitch]

6. That;'s one way to get them cover for you.

Ain't life among thieves grand?

[ArmchairMeme]

7. Laws work for everyone

Could they be tried under their very own military tribunals - the one where they cannot see the evidence against them?

[Solly Mack]

8. and we need to remind Congress of that

and keep reminding them...it's their skin or Bush's...choose.

[Pachamama]

9. But not themselves, right?

They are so smart those neo-cons....Protect themselves - hang everyone else out to be punished - or tortured.

[mom cat]

10. Mail this to all your Congress critters! The Jurist is a top notch source!

More from the article:


"War crimes policies and authorizations are not merely a threat to constitutional government and our democracy. They threaten law and order more generally, violate our common dignity, degrade our military, place our soldiers and CIA personnel in harms way, thwart our mission, and deflate our authority and influence abroad. They can embolden an enemy, serve as a terrorist recruitment tool, lengthen social violence, and fulfill other terrorist ambitions.

Additionally, Congress should not attempt to provide domestic immunity for criminal violations of rights and protections contained in the Geneva Conventions. Tin-horn dictatorships attempt such forms of impunity, but the attempt would itself violate several treaties of the United States and (as Marcos, Milosevic, Noriega, Pinochet, various Argentinian generals, and others learned) have no legal effect abroad in foreign or international fora. Instead, Congress should protect the honor of the United States and maintain the rule of law."

[fooj]

11. You can be certain that I will mail it!

Let's get ALL of the treasonous, rat bastards and HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE!

[annabanana]

12. Now, THAT is a link to send to your Reps!!

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forumy/2006/09/plea-to-congress-on-military.php

Just that, and a little note of concern about their being exposed to prosecution oughta do it!

[progressoid]

13. Yep - I'm doing it now!

[chill_wind]

14. Good link to send to media, as well.

This is in plain enough English, is it not? Enough of the puditry and "debate".

Thanks for posting this. K/R.

[EVDebs]

15. Congress already IS culpable for giving the AUMF language

"as he (Bush) determines"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2142672&mesg_id=2144300

Congress allowed the War Powers Resolution of '73 to be ignored. The WPA says 'clear' 'situations' and 'circumstances' are required before sending US troops into harms way. With Sen Warner telling Rumsfeld that the AUMF may need to be revisited

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/8/23/192243/488

I would think that the certainty of the AUMF being reviewed in a Democratic House (at a minimum) would lift the spirits of DUers.

To avoid further complicity in the Iraq fiasco, Congress, not just Democrats mind you, need to wash their hands of this mess and get on with fixing what's wrong !

[The Count]

16. They saw the pics, videos of Abu Grahib - so they are accomplices if

they try to cover it up, eskew responsibility.

[civildisoBDence]

17. Gore is looking better and better

He foresaw what most of us didn't, unlike the majority of Congressional Democrats. He can also run as a moderate, which will be critical if we want to take back the White House.

This may sound cynical, but we need to actively and loudly recruit him to run so it'll look like a sacrifice on his part, not ambition or revenge.

Newsprism

[moondust]

18. Kick.