What? I didn’t do anything!
AlterNet: Rumsfeld Flees France, Fearing Arrest — This is rich. Now he’ll probably never be able to go back to France or much of Europe.
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld fled France today fearing arrest over charges of “ordering and authorizing” torture of detainees at both the American-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the U.S. militarys detainment facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, unconfirmed reports coming from Paris suggest.
U.S. embassy officials whisked Rumsfeld away yesterday from a breakfast meeting in Paris organized by the Foreign Policy magazine after human rights groups filed a criminal complaint against the man who spearheaded President George W. Bushs “war on terror” for six years.
Under international law, authorities in France are obliged to open an investigation when a complaint is made while the alleged torturer is on French soil.
found by Howard Harawitz
“…unconfirmed reports coming from Paris suggest.”
Obviously my journalistic standards are a little higher than this place: I need a confirmation that the suggestion was from an unconfirmed report before I’ll believe it.
Somewhat related: Canadian William Sampson is attempting to sue police in Saudi Arabia for torture. He’s appealing to a European court subsequent to the decision below.
“On Wednesday, the House of Lords overturned the appeal court’s judgment, saying the men do not have the right to sue Saudis because foreign government officials are immune from prosecution in Britain.
Lord Bingham of Cornhill said the principle of immunity for individual officials was “fundamental to the principle of state immunity.”
“A state is either immune from the jurisdiction of a foreign court or it is not,” he said.”
http://tinyurl.com/2t57ux
RBG
About bloody time!
Doesn’t the US have a fugitive extradition agreement with France for rapist, torturers, child molesters and murderers? Aside from child molesting, me thinks Rumsfeldt is guilty of those.
The question is, will Bush get arrested if he leaves the US? That would be pretty cool.
What makes anyone think that France has any jurisdiction in this matter? Were any of the detainee’s French citizens? Not too mention the diplomatic imunity… Sorry to ruin everyones wet dream.
He was sued (civil suit) not criminally charged and he did not flee France, his visit was over and he left on his predetermined time table
The blog had no facts to back up their accusations, just supposition and he said she said and you libs run with it like the hand of god came down and wrote it on the wall
#3 said it best
If I drag his ass back to France, do I get a reward
(sound of shotgun clicking)
3. I see, but other than Bushco, you have a long history of Republican support.
RBG
That arrest of Pinochet by Britain was just horrible. Here’s a guy who saved his country from becoming another Cuba, and the left is all mad at him for it.
MikeN, if anyone can paint Pinochet as a “good guy” dictator who rescued his country, you’re certainly the man for the job
I would think Pedro is the man for the job.
My opinion is he was clearly a good guy, as evidenced by Margaret Thatcher’s hosting him at her place. The Allende regime was sending Chile along the same path that Cuba travelled. Luckily for the residents of Chile, Castro was still around, and they could see for themselves how bad things would become, and it moved Pinochet to action. Chile is one of the wealthiest countries in South America, and Pinochet even stepped down instead of holding a firm grip on power like every other dictator. What did he get for it? A trip to a jail cell. That certainly won’t encourage other dictators to step down.
Who knows, maybe Saddam would have accepted exile if the Pinochet case hadn’t been brought. Think of all the war that could have been averted.
#31. all those people Pinochet had pushed out of the back of C-130s over the Pacific might disagree with that assessment. but then conservatives never minded bloodbaths in the name of anti-communism, even against democratically elected communists.
stupid american (almost as usual
)
What a shame for ALL of you americans – love or hate Rumsfeld aside, it only shows that you americans can’t even rule the world like the world empire supposed to…