Will Rumsfeld ever pay for war crimes? (Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, Iraq)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Donald Rumsfeld was one of the primary architects of the Iraq war. On September 15, 2001, in a meeting at Camp David, Rumsfeld suggested an attack on Iraq because he was deeply worried about the availability of "good targets in Afghanistan." Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill reported that Rumsfeld articulated his hope to "dissuade" other nations from "asymmetrical challenges" to U.S. power. Rumsfeld's support for a preemptive attack on Iraq "matched with plans for how the world's second largest oil reserve might be divided among the world's contractors made for an irresistible combination," Ron Suskind wrote after interviewing O'Neill.
Despite PNAC (those unfamiliar can Google it) Rumsfeld and what has become of people in these illegal wars go against the Bible, and any people with a conscience.
what exactly was the crime? I would agree that Rummy was misguided, but not criminal. Were JFK and LBJ also war criminals? Was Woodrow WIlson? Moronic.
I find it interesting ***some*** do not expect these false idols to be held personally responsible. personal accountability is something everyone must answer to in the end. Police state, 911/Patriot Act, and a violation of privacy. Its all a fact of life now in America.
Saleh v. Bush is a 2013 class action lawsuit filed against members of the George W. Bush administration for their alleged involvement in premeditating and carrying out the Iraq War. The suit is being brought to court by Comar Law, against former president George W. Bush, former vice president Dick Cheney, former secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld, former national security adviser and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state Colin Powell, and former deputy secretary of defense and president of the World Bank Paul Wolfowitz
Lead plaintiff Sundus Shaker Saleh alleges that the defendants planned the war as early as 1998, capitalizing on the September 11 attacks in 2001 to ramp up support for the invasion through fear tactics and intentional misinformation. The suit argues that the true purpose of the subsequent war in 2003 was to enact regime change in Iraq, and as such the war was not carried out in self defense, nor with the authorization of the UN Security Council or other relevant international treaties.
As such, the defendants are accused of conspiring and committing the crime of aggression against the Iraqi people, a violation of the Nuremberg Principles on crimes against peace.
If brought to court, this case will mark the first time since the Nuremberg Trials that any government officials have been charged with the crime of aggressive war, and the first time U.S. officials have been charged with any of the Nuremberg crimes against peace.
Evidence of false linking of Al–Qaeda to Iraq
The Saleh v. Bush complaint alleges that the defendants participated in a systematic pattern of deception to convince the American public of cooperation between Iraq and Al–Qaeda, despite the fact that no proof of such a link has ever been found. This deception was carried out as a means of manufacturing public support for the invasion of Iraq.
Some of the evidence cited by the complaint includes the following:
Speeches by Defendant Bush in 2002 claiming connections between Iraq and Al–Qaeda, despite the fact that ten days after the September 11 attacks, his daily brief confirmed that there was no evidence implicating Iraq, and scant evidence of collaboration between Iraq and Al–Qaeda For example, in an October 7 speech he said, "Iraq and Al–Qaeda have had high–level contacts that go back a decade. Some Al–Qaeda leaders who fled Afghanistan went to Iraq. ... We've learned that Iraq has trained Al-Qaeda members in bomb-making and poisons and deadly gases. And we know that after September 11 Saddam Hussein's regime gleefully celebrated the terrorist attacks on America." Defendant Bush also referred to a supposed group of "nuclear mujahideen ... nuclear holy warriors" controlled by Saddam Hussein.
On October 14: "[Saddam Hussein] has had connections with Al–Qaeda. This is a man who, in my judgement, would like to use Al–Qaeda as a forward army. And this is a man that we must deal with for the sake of peace, for the sake of our children's peace."
A 2002 Defense Intelligence Agency report confirming that Bush Administration officials were informed that the intelligence source linking Al–Qaeda and Iraq was likely illegitimate, concluding that "Saddam’s regime is intensely secular and is wary of Islamic revolutionary movements. Moreover, Baghdad is unlikely to provide assistance to a group it cannot control.”
Allegations made by Defendant Cheney on two separate occasions (December 9, 2001 and in September 2003) of a meeting between an Iraqi intelligence officer and one of the September 11 hijackers, that was later found to have never occurred.
Cheney retracted the statement in 2006.
A February 2003 speech given by Defendant Powell to the UN Security Council, alleging operational collaboration between Iraq and Al–Qaeda. The speech is considered a crucial component of the administration's success in winning support for the invasion. Powell alleged that Iraq "harbors a deadly terrorist network headed by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, an associated collaborator of Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda lieutenants.” He said Saddam Hussein was “more willing to assist al-Qaida after the 1998 bombings of [US] embassies in Kenya and Tanzania”, and that “From the late 1990s until 2001, the Iraqi Embassy in Pakistan played the role of liaison to the Al Qaeda organization.”
In 2005, Defendant Powell stated he felt "terrible" about this speech, which he considered a "blot" on his reputation. Regarding the alleged link between Iraq and Al–Qaeda, Powell admitted to being dishonest, “I have never seen a connection . . . I can’t think otherwise because I’d never seen evidence to suggest there was one.”
^ Walzer, Michael (2007). "The Crime of Aggressive War". Global Studies Law Review (Washington University Law) 6 (3).
International Military Tribunal (August 8, 1945). "Charter of the International Military Tribunal". Nuremberg Trial Proceedings (Nuremberg, Germany: Avalon Project archive, Yale Law School) 1. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
Jackson, Robert (1946). "Nuremberg Trials, Opening Address for the United States". Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression1 (7) (Washington: Office of the United States Chief Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality).
"Iraq/Middle East". Project for the New American Century. 1997–2000. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
what exactly was the crime? I would agree that Rummy was misguided, but not criminal. Were JFK and LBJ also war criminals? Was Woodrow WIlson?
Of course they were. If the Nuremberg principles were applied to us, almost every president since McKinley would be hooded and dropped through a trap door.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Far Far from it.