Top UN officials are just some of the many people outraged in the wake of the CIA torture report summary’s release, calling for the prosecution of US officials past and present who were implicated.
As a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture, the US is legally obliged to prosecute torturers, but despite growing pressure, there is little to no chance of that happening.
The Justice Department today insisted that they aren’t even considering reopening the criminal investigation into the torture, saying none of the revelations in the report were anything they didn’t already know years ago. Though the Justice Department previously investigated whether any of the torture was prosecutable, at the time the attorney general had already ruled out following through on anything.
That doesn’t mean the torturers are entirely off the hook, however. Rights groups and legal experts say that with so much of the torture carried out overseas, much of it still falls under the purview of those foreign courts, as well as potentially the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The US itself isn’t a participant in the ICC, and in 2002 Congress passed a law which authorized military action against the Hague to free any US government officials facing prosecution by them.
Getting the ICC involved would require a request from one of the nations that hosted US torture, like Afghanistan, who is a member of the ICC. That seems unlikely, at this point, because of diplomatic fallout.
Still, the risk of prosecution in national courts of those nations, particularly nations like Poland which have been actively prosecuting their own former officials involved in the torture, have experts saying US officials implicated should think long and hard before traveling abroad.
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so much for justice. when even the courts won't enforce the law what hope do we have?
When we understand the mind,the imbedded postions,and financial resources of this "political -criminal class".one starts to understand why there is no hope for "consequences? penalties? punishment" ?
The star people may always be changing but this is a short synopsis of what goes on. In,and out of our gov't the likes of Richard .Pearl who helps shapes policies — Alan Dershowitz helps to control the narrative of academia and opinion in the legal realm.Propaganda in the press and on the the air waves the likes of Charles Krauthammer. Multi billionaire, more-war-now activist Sheldon Adelson,who will give millions to any party or person that listens to his advice i.e. "Nuke Iran now.No diplomacy" There are scores of others but these are exhibit A as to how dangerous these certifiable psychopaths have become to the whole world.Psychopaths ! here's the proof ,Richard .Pearl was the progenitor of "Shock and Awe" translation you bomb the cites of Iraq day and night 24/7 until the civilians become so frighten of explosions and death they offer no resistance to invasion.This is better known as state terrorism ,Alan Dershowitz is on record advocating "torture warrants" to make any sadistic cruelties and perversities inflicted by the US Govn't seem,though never humane,at least legal .Charles Krauthammer a most interesting case and a true modern day Dr. Josef Mengele ,here is a man with a medical degree who had to have seen and treated human suffering in his practice,now calls for reining terror and dismemberment down on all peoples and countries,as long as they have a Islamist populations .Finally as mentioned Sheldon Adelson with a personal worth of $ 40 billion advocating with his cash to "Nuke Iran now". These are the verifiable psychopaths who direct the politicians,who direct the Dr. Strangeloves at the pentagon to carry out these crimes against humanity.
But of course. Evil government jerks covering the asses of other evil government jerks.
The USA is a nation of hypocrisy, corruption, and criminality – and of 2nd class citizens and privileged elites.
If there ever was a social justice system operating under the laws in U.S. domestic or international, there wouldn't be any recial profiling by the police nor there would be any killing by the police, if there was a democracy in terms of social political and social economical existed in U.S. there wouldn't be millions of homeless in U.S. if there was any respect for international law, human rights, respect for nations sovereignty and dignity USG wouldent be in business of lying to the world about its fake, manipulative, deceptive and fraudulent foreign policies where USG been at war with rest of the world for last 65 years, USG wouldent support an apartheid, state sponserd, Israeli or saudis barbaric and CCG family owned and operated "governments" regime nor would let their agents (AIPAC) to work on behalfe of their interests in USA, in the other hand USA is not alone, there are other deceptive, fraudulent, manipulative governments following the very same foot step, among other European, England is the worse of them all.
So the US passed a law authorizing a military attack on the Hague in the event of any US officials being prosecuted? The arrogance makes me sick.
It was 2002, they knew what they already did and what they were about to do. Pre-emptive covering of one's a**.
Latin America and other third world countries are developing into first world countries, with democracy and uplifting for the worst off in their societies. In the meantime, the USA is turning into a cheap and brutal banana republic, one that starts wars on small sovereign nations, bullies countries everywhere, even its friends, tortures human beings, while creating a meltdown society at home where everything get worse and worse for its own people.
The PTB will continue down this abyss as long as the US has the world's most powerful military. Remember that Empires fall from within (witness the USSR). The US will be next to fall. All the nationwide protests going on now may just be the beginning.
These men and women can never vacation in Poland again, isn't that punishment enough? – White House spokesman defending the architects and perpetrators of torture, Dec. 2014.
Maybe the US will start bombing Poland next for being so uppity. You must bow down to the Empire!
So the Justice Dept cannot prosecute someone who tortures another human being but has no problem putting Mike Vick in jail for abusing dogs, which is a horrible thing to do, but does not even come close to what was done by the CIA to people. What makes this even worse for me is that so many people are not even horrified by these revelation and are going on about how necessary the torture was. As a nation we are doomed.
The US is a criminal thug who would beat any one that would do what he does.He condemns others for the same things he does.
The US,"Do as we say ,not as we do".
The government is too busy prosecuting people for serious crimes such as steroid use and dog fighting to be bothered with something like torture. When will people finally realize that its never a crime if the government does it, crimes can only be committed by the mundanes.
What we'll have instead is a bunch of Hollywood movies coming out, showing the CIA as alternately heroic, gritty, comical and endearing to US audiences. Who would want to prosecute these people? The movies make them all cute and cuddly.
The United States of America is done. A ruthlessly failed state armed to the teeth with the nastiest weaponry ever design by the evil men of war and a failed state willing to work crimes against humanity with impunity.
Department of Justice????? LOL A bit like the Dept of "Defense"
Firstly Geneva comes into play here the US Supreme Court ruled thus in Hamden V Rumsfeld, an it is a direct breach of Geneva both in the Civilian Prisoner and the Military Prisoners rules, It is also a breach in both to write a law excusing prosecution! Now Geneva is a ratified treaty and we know that ratified treaties have in fact special Constitutional status, which is WHY the US Supreme Court overruled Bush with Hamden and Hamdi! They are the precedents, Start with the easy indictments YOO and BYBEE there involvement and complicity are plain as day and under their own signature without their legal opinions it wouldn't have happened! Also seriously read the minor judgments in Hamden there is a surprise comment there from a Republican appointed Justice!
War is hell and that is the reason war should be avoided at all costs. It should only be the very last alternative. What happens during war is inhuman, horrid, cruel and totally unacceptable to a civilized society. Many of our close NATO allies have been involved in similar scenarios, but they did not have the need to wash their dirty laundry in public, like our hypocritical politicians. They knew it was wrong, did it anyway and shut up about it. And if there is another war, it will happen again. A good reason to stop and think before anybody starts another military conflict!