Prosecuting Bush Officials for Torture - Philippe Sands
Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2008/08/24/Philippe_Sands_on_Torture_Abu_Ghraib_and_Guantanamo
Author and legal scholar Philippe Sands discusses the likelihood that Bush Administration officials can or will be prosecuted under international law for authorizing the use of torture on terrorism suspects.
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Professor of International Law Philippe Sands tells the story of a memo. Sent in December 2002 to US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, it requested the approval of a number of coercive techniques of interrogation. As Sands tells Anna Funder, with his acceding signature, Rumsfeld pushed the United States beyond the pale of international law and directly towards the abuses of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay - Melbourne Writers Festival
Philippe Sands joined the Faculty at University College London in January 2002. He is Professor of Law and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals in the Faculty, and a key member of staff in the Centre for Law and the Environment. His teaching areas include public international law, the settlement of international disputes (including arbitration), and environmental and natural resources law.
Sands is notable for authoring a book, Lawless World, where he accuses US President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair of conspiring to invade Iraq in violation of international law. His follow-up book, Torture Team: Rumsfeld’s Memo and the Betrayal of American Values, was released in May, 2008.
As a practicing barrister he has extensive experience litigating cases before the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, and the European Court of Justice. He frequently advises governments, international organisations, NGOs and the private sector on aspects of international law. In 2003 he was appointed a Queen’s Counsel. He has been appointed to lists of arbitrators maintained by ICSID and the PCA.
11 Comments
BerlinProdigy on January 7th, 2009
i couldn’t agree more
akamal1113 on January 7th, 2009
I hope that Bush, Cheney and the rest warmongers are prosecuted, convicted under the US judicial law. I also hope that someboby would record their execution and upload it on youtube.
stone1home on January 7th, 2009
Unfortunately, the Vietnam War, rife with butchery, chemical warfare, and openly-practiced torture- it set a very bad but undeniable precedent.
eirefrance on January 7th, 2009
I hope those people (who can never leave the US again) include Rumsfeld, Rice, Cheney & Bush. It would be a shame if the only ones who suffer for this are those who followed orders.
hurchel on January 7th, 2009
I agree with youseemoremonster, I don’t think the people of the world realize just how many people in the US hope everyday, wish / will that bush is taken out of the white house screaming. By his own troops or the american people he is always talking about cause he doesn’t mean us the citizens of the united states.
cobwebhead on January 7th, 2009
Torture is Terrorism
Torturers are Terrorists
tom1600x1050 on January 7th, 2009
Torture is deplorable but it’s not understandable without reference to whether a nation is at war or peace. Right now America is in a blurry state so this stuff happens. Read my pamphlet: Common Sense II: How to Prevent the Three Types of Terrorism. It looks at the bigger picture, simply. Otherwise this discussion is only scratching a surface issue.
pkane4 on January 7th, 2009
LOL!!! Snowball’s chance in hell….
blackiron60 on January 7th, 2009
Agreed, but it remains to be seen whether the necessary willpower exists to take such an unprecedented step. I hope the world has the courage to do so.
seamoremonster on January 7th, 2009
it is essential to a civilized society that Bush, Cheney, et al are brought to justice. It is a basic tenet of human decency that those who endorse and practice torture are brought to justice. The Bush Administration has disgraced our flag and our country by not adhering to the tenets of the Geneva Convention.
HemiHead66 on January 7th, 2009
It doesn’t look like anyone in the United States has the balls to go after Bush. What I want to know is what the hell happened to the rest of the people in our Government. Are they all corrupt? I can’t believe they sat by and did nothing. Bush told congress to fuck off and that’s exactly what they did. And that Nit-Wit Pelosi saying that she can’t see where Bush did anything wrong. How did she get reelected? She’s totally fucking useless.