Should George W. Bush be tried for war crimes?
Hi. It’s Chad once again. Sorry for the delays. I’m back from my own long vacation, and the brain takes a while to warm up. So the comments will be more updated. Thanks.
It’s no longer just a thought on a blog or two, or a conversation at the dinner table.
Dan Kennedy in the Guardian explores these issues this week. And the useless Congress certainly going to dish out any punishment for Bush or Cheney for their war crimes.
A process of some kind needs to be on the record. And a mug shot of Bush (and Cheney) would make great symbolism to the rest of the world that we really do care about how this travesty of an administration has made its impact on the world.
So do you think Bush should be charged and tried for war crimes? Cheney, too? How do we go about this? As always, let us know what you think.
July 10th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
“So do you think Bush should be charged and tried for war crimes? Cheney, too?”
Does the sun rise in the east and set in the west? Of course Bush and Cheney should be charged and tried for war crimes.
“How do we go about this?”
Ah, that is the $64000 question. And also who is going to do it who is in a position to be able to do so?
July 10th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld should be in prison awaiting execution for war crimes, treason, torture, violations of international law, and violations of the U. S. Constitution.
July 10th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
YES!!!! In fact, I have a stack of papers relating to his administration’s war crimes. I guess we could start with at least 2 illegal wars and their consequences. They almost make Mugabe look like a nice guy. I’m beginning to understand suicide bombers.
July 10th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
BTW Sorry it took me so long to reply Chad, but I found an interesting recipe for shrimp chowder, so I had to go do some shrimping and a bit of fishing for the fish broth. Too bad the corn & potatoes are not ready yet, I had to buy them at the grocery store.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:36 am
hard question, very hard question - because…
how to say YES a million times - in just a word?
good point - the PNAC (and its servants) is really not an “American Problem”. Noticed the change in the world “after Bush”? Don’t think that vassals are blind…
so, it would be not just “a great symbolism” - it is the only way for a nation to get even with war criminals
and i do not kid - ask Riverbend, ask people knowing about Iraq, how life was…
before Bush….
how?
don’t know, how - but know, how NOT
don’t wait for Nuremberg/Den Haag…
justice is not a loud thing - but a very, very enduring one. It will not allow to forget and not allow to forgive…
until it is served. Never underestimate justice…
July 11th, 2008 at 8:08 am
We long for justice, and we desire revenge. Phil Gramm says we are in a MENTAL RECESSION. I say we are in a national depression. Hopelessness, apathy, anhedonia, paranoia, persecutory thoughts, homicidal ideation. We are all suffering (except of course for Bush’s Base: the Haves and Have Mores).
A Therapist might suggest we stand up to the abuser and say NO MORE. But we, the American citizenry are the children in a custody battle: we should be protected from such abusers by our Guardian Ad Litems–our Representatives in Congress. They however have abnegated their responsibilities to us an have allowed the abuse to continue. And thousands have died, and hundreds of thousands have been wounded, have had their lives shattered. I am not a violent person, but I can feel the temptation for the symbolic acts of public execution of the despicable war criminals of BushCo.
And yet all of the above is an ugly wish, and if I were the person I want to be, I would leave it to the Karmic wheel to balance out the crimes of BushCo. The nation is broken. We should expend our energies on repair, not revenge.
July 11th, 2008 at 8:40 am
What a day for a daydream.
Bush goes to Iraq for a “victory” lap after the agreement between big oil and the Iraqi government is confirmed. He is touring a school for girls to show the world how wonderful things are in Iraq. He’s reading a children’s book to the students when suddenly an armed insurgent crashes into the room and raises his rifle. Bush grabs one of the little girls and hides behind her. The Secret Service takes down the shooter and everyone is safe. In the confusion, a reporter sends the picture out over net before bush’s keepers can stop it. The headlines say, “Bush escapes terrorist attack” but the picture tells the story. A wide-eyed, cringing man holding a small child in front of him for protection.
Trip to Iraq- 10 million dollars
Camera phone- 1 hundred dollars
Picture of a cowering decider hiding behind little girl on every website- priceless
Sure, I’d love to see him impeached and imprisoned, but even more I’d love to see him for the coward he really is.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:46 am
“justice is not a loud thing - but a very, very enduring one. It will not allow to forget and not allow to forgive…
until it is served. Never underestimate justice…”
Again
I really like that. Justice, Fairness is basic to our survival, like truth.
Juli
“We should expend our energies on repair, not revenge.”
I agree but as Again pointed out. At some point we must deal with the crimes and justice must be served.
July 11th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
There is also the Rome Statute of the International Court, Article 8.
July 12th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Should they be tried? Of course. But more immediately, they (and Rove) should be arrested and imprisoned by the Congress to ensure that they do not cause any additional harm before Jan 20th. With Executive Order 51 and other travesties in place, there’s no limit to what could be done in the short term.
The news is full of what-ifs, some of which become the basis for my short stories, as happened when Bush claimed that the Supreme Court’s recent Habeus ruling would result in terrorists on Main Street. The story is called “Judicial Restraint”, and it starts like this…
“You’ve got to hide me!”
Elliot peered again through the peephole at the man whose insistent knocking had awakened him. The distorted fisheye view of his darkened porch was blocked suddenly, first by a bulbous nose, and then by a bloodshot eye.
“I’m your neighbor, for god’s sake, Elliot. Let me in!”
“John?” he said, suspiciously.
“Yes, it’s me. Haven’t you heard the news?” The man in the fisheye stepped back and looked out into the street. “They’ll be here, soon. Come on. Let me in!”
…the rest is at http://klurgsheld.wordpress.com/2008/07/04/short-story-judicial-restraint/
— Simon
July 12th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Not just yes, HELL YES!
Every day the depression of what is going on in our country weighs me down to the point I can barely move. Every day I live with the hatred and “homicidal ideation” that this regime has engendered.
Do I want revenge? Yes. Do I want their blood? Yes. But even more, I want justice.
Yes, it is an ugly wish. I would dearly love for the Wheel of Karma to run these slugs over. But folks, the Wheel of Karma doesn’t turn on its own. Nixon may have met his karma, but it was through the karmic agents Ellsberg, Bernstein, and Woodward. King George met his karma, but it was through the karmic agents of Jefferson, Franklin, and Washington.
The problem of saving our energy for repair is that, if something isn’t done soon, there will be nothing left to repair. There will not be enough money, resources, or good will in the entire world to repair the very little that is left to us.
July 13th, 2008 at 9:19 am
English is such a gnarly language! Probably in every other language, the following questions would receive different answers, the equivalents of “Yes” and “No” respectively, but in English they can be answered by the VERY SAME WORD! Should George W. Bush be tried for war crimes? “Duh!” WILL George W. Bush be tried for war crimes? “Duh!”
July 14th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Yes.
Though the United States does not recognize the authority of the ICC is is my fondest wish that they will investigate the current administration then try them for for their crimes.
Seems to me they meet quite a few crimes which fall under the ICC’s jurisdiction.
http://www.un.org/icc/crimes.htm#humanity
July 15th, 2008 at 12:54 am
I have the same hope as richl. I believe the ICC should try Bush/Cheney/Rice for their crimes against humanity. They will ignore any guilty verdict, but it will restrict their travel; and send a great message to the rest of humanity. Here, of course, that message will be trivialized by the corporate-owned media. I know that the next President, even if he is Obama, will not pursue criminal charges against Bush. You will hear all kinds of hypocritical, politically motivated pap like: “Time for healing”, “Mending fences”, “Bringing us together”, “Looking forward”, “The good of the country”, etc., etc. Do you hear that gagging sound? That will be the rest of us who actually believe justice should prevail, as we choke on the hypocrisy of trite phrases and political BS.
July 21st, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Get a big ham steak. Get some sweet potatoes. Get some regullar potatoes. (I prefer to use white or Yukon gold,) and make scalloped potatoes out of those (the white potatoes or whatever you prefer,) but use an Alfredo sauce rather than the usual boring stuff. Add some Sugar Pea pods to the plate to make the color more interesting. Cook them all in separate containers and place on individual plates or a large plater so that it looks nice.
What has this to do with the above? Nothing! I’m just tired of GWB’s war crimes & wanted to add something a bit diff.