it occurs to me

[winterbadger]

that the Abu Ghraib mistreatment of prisoners by US MPs and MI staff (as well as others) are just the sort of case that the U S, through several administrations of both stripes, has worked ot prevent the International Criminal Court from ever being empaneled to hear. Imagine, US servicemen and women being prosecuted by an international body for their actions in Abu Ghraib.

Isn't this just the sort of case a court like that *should* be established to try?

Comments

[dwarfrage.livejournal.com]

Actually no, the ICC is designed as a last ditch court. It's designed when a nation fails to or is unable to prosecute "war crimes". Now as shown, the US is proceeding with prosecution, ergo the ICC, even if the US were a member of, would not be necessary.

[winterbadger]

I take your point but, while we have yet to see the whole affair unravel, do you really think that anyone other than the lowest ranking people are going to be prosecuted by the United States? Evidence has been presented by the Taguba report that responsibility went far beyond the six or seven people who have been rempimanded, are currently under arrest, or are undergoing courtmartial, yet the president and the defense secretary repeatedly assure us that these are the only people who are guilty and the only people who are going to be punished. Is a government that apparently (if press reports are to be believed) *ordered* these abuses going to prosecute itself for violations of international law?

[dwarfrage.livejournal.com]

We won't know until the process if over. I have my suspicions, but I also operate under presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Also considering the amount of junk that is up in the air regarding the ICC (from office scuttlebutt), there's no way they would be equipped to deal with this at the moment.

[winterbadger]

Also considering the amount of junk that is up in the air regarding the ICC (from office scuttlebutt), there's no way they would be equipped to deal with this at the moment.

A situation that is at least partly the responsibility of our own government, which has used some of the crudest tools of economic and military coercion to prevent the ICC from being established or from having meaningful jurisdiction.