The Seventh Circuit US Court of Appeals today upheld the previous court rulings allowing two Americans who worked as military contractors in Iraq to sue former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for having them tortured.
The ruling comes just a week after District Judge James Gwim rejected another effort by the Obama Administration to block a lawsuit brought by a third contractor, who had also been tortured as a “high-value” detainee by the US military.
The Obama Administration has been fighting hard to keep such lawsuits from moving forward, making multiple arguments claiming that courts lack jurisdiction to rule on torture of Americans by the US military and warning that the lawsuits were dangerous because they might affect the decisions of future US officials who have to decide whether or not to order American citizens tortured for no reason.
The Gwim case related to an unnamed translator who was summarily detained when his contract ran out to prevent him from returning to the US. Today’s ruling relates to two employees, Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel, of Shield Group Security.
The two had privately approached the government about possible illegal actions of their employer, and became whistleblowers. They uncovered an illicit program called “Beer for Bullets” in which the company traded US soldiers liquor for extra ammo and weapons, and then sold those on the open market.
When the Shield Group learned of their role as whistleblowers, they had their papers confiscated and were then arrested by the military and taken to Camp Cropper. During their detention they were repeatedly tortured.
The Administration has not commented yet on today’s ruling, but Secretary Rumsfeld’s personal lawyer blasted the ruling as a “blow to the US military,” saying allowing lawsuits by those who were tortured amounted to allowing judges to “second-guess the decisions made by the armed forces.”
Just think that no matter what happens there is a Little Rumsfeld worried sick at least for a while.
Next there are another two persons whom need indictment for the same matter, Cheney and Bush!
Hell ya Rumsfeld and anyone else then and now involved in illegal action shold be put in jail if a lury makes that decision.Rumsfelds lawyer might as well say the military should be above the law.He should go to jail for such a stupid statement.They teach soldiers to be inhuman and expect them to obey law when there commaders agree with everything they do.I hope more than enything he is found guilty and it sets a president to go after the rest of the scum.They got soldiers doing thing that would make most sick thats a big reason for the suisides they don't to often mention.Doing these horrible illegal things to them only ensure they do it or worse to American soldiers.Ron Paul gets more money from military famillys than anyone including the criminal Obama.He will stop these illegal wars if elected but elections are most likely desided before a votes cast.Amd America is trying to spread democracy.All they do is lie and many citizens must be blind or don't care untill it them how nows what is happening to.
Tortured for reporting criminal activity? What's next, concrete shoes and a one way drive to the Tigris? Maybe Rumsfeld could be indicted under the RICO Act.
This is a joke, right?
Criminal activities take place by the US armed forces, they are found out, and then the best argument Rumsfeld's lawyer can come up with for no prosecution of the crime is that judges shouldn't be able to “second-guess the decisions made by the armed forces.”?
Every one of these guys that ordered, or carried out the order to torture, should be tried under the war crimes legislation, regardless of who they were.
Alas, faint hope of this occurring.
"allowing judges to second-guess the military" is also what used to be known as "democracy" in these parts. The whole structure of the US Constitution is one where separate branches of government were created in order to provide checks and balances to the other branches. Judges second-guessing the military is exactly what people like Madison and Jefferson wanted when they set up this Constitution.
Well, not really. See, people like Jefferson and Madison didn't want any sort of permanent standing military because they viewed such a standing military as one of the greatest threats to liberty they they knew. Only banks and corporations seem to get the same status in their writings.
But, if we were to have a standing army, then the one thing that founders like Madison and Jefferson would have wanted would be to have the separate and independent judiciary that they set up questioning and second-guessing the military. Especially when the military is accused of kidnapping and torturing the very American citizens who's freedom people like Madison and Jefferson were trying to protect.
Tyrants all around the world think they'll get away with it all. That everyone will forget their crimes and just let them live the good life. Little by little that has been changing. Hopefully that will also be the case in the US some day. Where Americans will hold government officials responsible for their crimes against Americans, even if those were committed in the name of "security" or in the name of Bush, or whatever rhetorical piece of crap they invent to claim that they are innocent of all wrongdoing basically by virtue of being part of the establishment. That has to end and soon. Especially these crimes that have the typical American tinge of idiocy added to them. "Beer for Bullets?" Why didn't they just call it Fast and Furious Middle East Edition?
Rummy's in poop-land – Bush and Cheney will one day be prosecuted for war crimes too.Obama is on that list as well for shooting anonymous people from the air with unmanned drones.