Report: Prosecute For White House Rights Abuse Crimes or Other Countries Must
JUSTICE, 18 Jul 2011
After days of United States human rights abuse crimes making international headlines, including 26 top White House and military officials facing trials in Iran for terrorism, the United Nations Human Rights Commission again rebuking United States, this time for illegally executing a foreign national in Texas, and Human Rights alert calling on Congress to impeach a DoJ senior for covering up abuses, the Bush and Obama administrations’ rights abuses spotlight became even brighter Tuesday, July 12 when the major Human Rights Watch report on accountability for United States torture was released, calling for White House prosecutions and for other countries to do it if Obama continues failing to do so. The report calls for the war crime prosecutions if the united States is to “reaffirm the primacy of the rule of law.”
The long awaited, delayed, 107-page report, “Getting Away With Torture” presents substantial information warranting prosecutions of Bush, his senior administration officials and others, actions that if the White House does not ensure happen, other countries must according to the report recommendations.
It will not be as easy for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to dismiss Iran’s recent decision to prosecute United States officials now that Human Rights Watch, through the report and accompanying statements, called on foreign governments to prosecute George W Bush and many of his senior officials for war crimes if the Obama administration continues failing to investigate the growing body of evidence against the former president over the use of torture.
“Getting Away With Torture” presents human rights abuses viewed as crimes committed by President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and CIA Director George Tenet, all of whom ordered war crimes such as “waterboarding,” using secret CIA prisons, and transferring detainees to countries where they were tortured.
President Obama has continued to dismiss the war crimes as a thing of the past not warranting accountability. People other than torture victims think otherwise, all supported by the new Human Rights Watch Report.
Human Rights Watch claims that the Obama administration is ‘failing to act on evidence,” says the Guardian in its headline news subtitle.
Torture is a war crime, not unfortunate choice, President Obama
The press release accompanying the report states, “There are solid grounds to investigate Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Tenet for authorizing torture and war crimes,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.
“President Obama has treated torture as an unfortunate policy choice rather than a crime. His decision to end abusive interrogation practices will remain easily reversible unless unless the legal prohibition against torture is clearly reestablished.”
Getting Away With Torture Table of Contents includes:
- Getting Away with Torture
- Summary
- Recommendations
- I. Background: Official Sanction for Crimes against Detainees
- II. Torture of Detainees in US Counterterrorism Operations
- III. Individual Criminal Responsibility
- Appendix: Foreign State Proceedings Regarding US Detainee Mistreatment
- Acknowledgments and Methodology
If the US government does not pursue credible criminal investigations, other countries should prosecute US officials involved in crimes against detainees in accordance with international law, stated Human Rights Watch.
“The US has a legal obligation to investigate these crimes,” Roth said.
“If the US doesn’t act on them, other countries should.”
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Deborah Dupre’ holds American and Australian science and education graduate degrees plus thirty years human rights, environmental and peace activism; led Aboriginal Pacific Islander and Australian research; holds pivotal role in FUEL; co-founded America’s Green Team, FUEL; lectures on Ancient Wisdom, Modern Technology; and markets second-generation biofuel seeds/trees. You can contact Deborah here or visit her website, www.DeborahDupre.com.
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