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19 November 2010 By Bill
Quigley In his
memoir (which some wise people have already moved in
bookstores to the CRIME section) George W. Bush admitted
that he authorized that detainees be waterboarded,
tortured, a crime under US and international law. Bush's
crime confession coincides with reports that no one
will face criminal charges from the US Department of
Justice for the destruction of 92 CIA videotapes which
contained interrogations using waterboarding. Where
is the accountability for these crimes? Bush
and other criminals will be brought to justice if the
Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the
European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)
have their way. CCR
and ECCHR jointly intervened into a criminal
investigation in Spain examining the role of former
civilian and military officials from the Bush
administration in the
commission of international
law violations, including
torture. The investigation is ongoing and includes
the crimes that Bush admitted he authorized. CCR
and ECCHR made it clear that they are committed to
pursuing criminal accountability and Bush's
confessions help. In a joint statement they said: "As Attorney
General Eric Holder stated
during his confirmation hearings, waterboarding is
torture. Calling these acts what they are, torture, is
not the result of differing legal ‘opinion,'
as Bush states; it is a matter of law.
Harold Koh,
the State Department Legal Adviser, confirmed this in
Geneva last week, stating during the U.S. Universal
Periodic Review that "the Obama administration defines
waterboarding as torture as a matter of law" and it is
not a ‘policy choice.' "There
are no circumstances or excuses—including ‘national
security'—under domestic and international law that
allow for the use of torture. And there is an
obligation to investigate and prosecute torture.
"Bush's decision to authorize torture and other
illegal acts against detainees held in U.S. custody
led to the use of torture at Guantánamo, in Iraq, Afghanistan,
and in secret prisons by U.S. forces, and contractors,
certain allies and the national forces in Iraq and
Afghanistan. His decision led to Abu Ghraib.
"Debates as to whether or not waterboarding of
detainees led to intelligence or make the nation
'safer' are not relevant questions. The only valid
question is: can we torture? The answer is no.
"Without accountability it is impossible to ensure
that such actions are never authorized by any future
president or other U.S. official. No immunity
protects Bush from prosecution for acts which violate
federal and international law. The Pinochet precedent
demonstrates that the law eventually catches up with
former presidents—even those who flout their
impunity. "Bush
states that accountability ‘would set a terrible
precedent for our democracy.' "We
answer that not doing so is failing our democracy—yet
again. We therefore urge the Obama administration and
the Department of Justice to act upon their
recognition that waterboarding is torture as a matter
of law, to investigate and prosecute acts of torture
and other serious violations carried out by officials
of the former administration, including George W.
Bush. "But
we will not wait any longer for the Obama
administration to act—we will continue seeking justice
and accountability under the principle of universal
jurisdiction and
as counsel in the ongoing investigation in Spain." Sell
those books, George W, you may need the money for
legal fees yet! For more information on CCR's work towards
accountability, visit http://www.ccrjustice.org/ourcases/current-cases/spanish-investigation-us-torture. Bill is Legal Director of the Center for
Constitutional Rights and a law professor at Loyola
University New Orleans. You can reach Bill at
quigley77@gmail.com |
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