As early as January, mercenaries were being hired and brought into Libya.

[tabatha]

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague said Wednesday that he would seek arrest warrants for three senior officials in Libya on charges of crimes against humanity, providing no names but saying that the three were “the most responsible” for the crimes committed.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor, appeared in a briefing before the United Nations Security Council, which had unanimously called for a criminal investigation of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s use of force against civilians. Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said the evidence supporting charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity included the shooting of peaceful protesters, followed by weeks of systematic persecution, including murder, imprisonment and torture.

“War crimes are apparently committed as a matter of policy,” the prosecutor said. He went on: “The evidence shows that events in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia prompted Libyan security forces to begin preparations for the possibility of demonstrations in Libya. As early as January, mercenaries were being hired and brought into Libya.” Other violations, Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said, included preventing the wounded from receiving medical care; arresting, torturing and raping perceived opponents of the Qaddafi government; and the use of cluster bombs, mortars and other heavy weapons in crowded urban areas.

The prosecutor said that “efforts to cover up the crimes” — removing bodies from hospitals and preventing doctors from documenting the dead and wounded — had made it difficult to establish the number of victims. But he said 500 to 700 died from shootings in February, before full-fledged fighting broke out between the government and hastily assembled rebel forces.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/world/africa/05nations.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto

[provis99]

1. well that sounds dandy.

Now lets get them to arrest Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld for war crimes, too.

[tabatha]

3. Yes, I agree that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld should go to jail.

Unfortunately, R2P did not exist at the time. I cannot find an exact date, but it seems to be about 2005-2006.

[Arctic Dave]

2. When did bush hire blackwater? Shouldn't he go to the Hague?

Remove MG and put gb and you couldn't tell where you were.

[tabatha]

4. Yep, he should be in the Hague.

So should Rumsfeld, Cheney, and others.