Friday, November 10, 2006
That didn't take long...
Why am I not surprised by this? I think it was right for Rumsfeld to go. He should have been fired long ago. But I've got to say stuff like this Donald Rumsfeld: The War Crimes Case makes my blood boil. What I'd really like to hear now is some clear thinking about how to turn things around in Iraq or, in lieu of that, how to get out. What we don't need is some kind of revenge of the granola-gobblers taking over public life until the next presidential election.
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2 comments:
I take your point, and on this particular article, I agree. But it is also, IMHO, unacceptable that he never got investigated over Abu Ghraib. The US has been the driving force behind all the achievements in international humanitarian law over the past decades. It has to be seen to be upholding it as well, if for nothing else, then for PR purposes. The message that is being sent by the failure to hold Rumsfeld accountable for Abu Ghraib for example, is that it is ok to try others on command responsibility but not a US secretary of defence, even though there might be a prima fascie case for it. Also, we need to be realistic about Iraq - there is little the US can really do to improve the situation, and the departure of Rumsfeld, I think, is unlikely to change the situation significantly. But holding people accountable would be a step in the right direction.
Rumi and Cheyney really did think, and continue to think, that they are above the law. Why should they be?
Sorry - just a late night rant.
Absolutely right Ivan. What we need is a more balanced assessment of Rummy's stretch as SecDef. As luck would have it, I've just provided one on my blog. And I didn't mention the word "crimes" once, let alone in close proximity to the word "war".
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