Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Prosecute George Bush outside of the USA


It is clear to me that our government violated the laws that we wrote in order to prosecute the Nazis at the war crimes trials in Nuremburg after World War II. It is also clear that our government has purposely violated international laws against torture and illegal war. The Bush administration used false intelligence to manipulate our country into unjust war and since then has violated the human rights of hundreds or thousands of men in illegal detentions.

These are crimes. They are crimes under American and international law. It is highly improbable that Mr. Bush will face justice in America, given our corrupt system that never prosecutes the powerful. Therefore if we hope for justice to punish the guilty and as a message to future Machiavellians, then we must hope for Bush and his coconspirators to be tried outside of the United States. It would not mean that Mr. Bush would serve any jail time or even pay any fines, but it would make it very risky for him to travel internationally. We should pursue this avenue as it seems to be the only one available to show the world that even the President of the United States cannot laugh at the law and murder and torture at will.

There is a famous judge in Spain named Baltasar Garzón who brought charges against the retired President and dictator of Chile, Augusto Pinochet Ugarte. Pinochet was held in house arrest for two years in England and although he was allowed to return to Chile because of his health and senility, a precedent was set that obliged EU member states to validate legal warrants issued by other EU members. Here is some more information about Garzón.

It is interesting to note that Judge Garzón succesfully prosecuted and jailed Al Qaeda operatives in Spain, in fact more than we have here in America. He was absolutely against the unjust and unwise war in Iraq. He has said that they way to end a terrorist organization's activities is with good police and judicial work. He rolled up ETA and Al Qaeda in Spain.

I have written a letter to Judge Garzón asking him to investigate the crimes of murder, torture, illegal war and kidnapping against George Bush and Dick Cheney. He is well aware of the crimes committed at Guantánamo and has called for its closure. If he were to file an accusation for these crimes before the European Union, then Misters Bush and Cheney would have to think twice about leaving the safety of the United States. If you would like to send this letter to Judge Garzón, click on the letter above, print it, date it and sign it, put it in an envelope and send it to the address at the beginning of the letter.

Here is the text of the letter to Judge Garzón in Spanish. A translation in English is below the Spanish:

Juez Baltasar Garzón Reall
Audiencia Nacional
C/ García Gutiérrez 1
28004 Madrid, Spain

de octubre de 2008


Estimado Juez Garzón,

Con esta carta quiero agradacerlo por todo lo que usted ha hecho durante los últimos 15 años para llevar los cuplables de crimenes contra la humanidad a la justicia. Usted merece el agradecimiento de todo el mundo por su trabajo, en especial por perseguir los torturadores y asesinos que escondieron detrás de puestos políticos. Era con astucia y valentía que usted casi llevó Pinochet a justicia en España, y en hacerlo, usted lo dejó encarcelado en su casa en Santiago de Chile. También merece agradecimiento por llevar Scilingo, Videla y los otros argentinos involucrados en las matanzas de inocentes antes la justicia. Gracias a su trabajo, los culpables de genocidio y tortura no atreven salir de sus propios países.

Sr. Garzón, gracias a su reputación internacional como heroé de los inocentes, le pido con gran respeto que usted abra una investigación de dos hombres culpables de miles de muertes injustas y de cientos de torturas y encarcelaciones sin el debido proceso de la ley. Estas dos personas culpable de iniciar guerra injusta y de secuestra con asesinación son George Walker Bush y Richard Cheney. Sr. Garzón, estos criminales deben responder por sus crímenes.

Es claro que hay gran peligro de abrir un proceso contra el Presidente de los Estados Unidos, pero usted es la persona con la estatura internacional de hacerlo. Por favor, ponga la justicia por encima de la cautela. Hay miles de heridos y muertos, miles de hombres a los cuales les robaron años de sus vidas, quienes claman por justicia. Tengo fe que usted puede representar todas estas personas. Confío que una vez más usted va a dejar saber que el mundo no aguanta los crímenes contra la humanidad.


Atentamente,



Here is the English translation:

With this letter I would like to thank you for all that you have done over the last 15 years to bring those that are guilty of crimes against humanity to justice. You deserve the thanks of the whole world for your work, especially for pursuing the torturers and murderers that hide behind their political positions. It was with great astuteness and courage that you almost brought Pinochet to trial in Spain and by so doing, you left him jailed in his home in Santiago de Chile for the rest of his life. You also deserve thanks for bringing Scilingo, Videla and the other Argentines involved in the slaughter of innocents during Operation Condor to justice. Thanks to your work, the men guilty of genocide and torture do not dare to leave their own countries.

Mr. Garzón, thanks to your international reputation as the hero of the innocents, I would like to ask you with great respect that you open up an investigation of two men who are guilty of thousands of unjust deaths and hundreds of tortures and illegal incarcerations without the due process of law. Those two men, guilty of initiating illegal war and of kidnapping with murder are George Walker Bush and Richard Cheney. Mr. Garzón, these men should abnswer for their crimes.

It is clear that there may be great danger involved with opening a process against a President of the United States, but you are the one person with sufficient international stature to do so. Please, put justice before caution. There are thousands of dead and injured, thousands of men who were robbed of long years of their lives who are crying for justice. I believe that you can represent those men and women. I believe that, once again, you will let the world know that we do not accept crimes against humanity.



Update - April 2nd 2009

Six months ago, I had the idea to write a letter and ask Judge Baltasar Garzón do investigate the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by George Bush and Dick Cheney.
And now this week we hear that he will almost certainly process David Addington, John Yoo, Doug Feith, Alberto Gonzales and two others. Justice may be served after all.

NEW LETTER FOR JUDGE GARZON.

I was asked by a reader to write a new letter to Judge Garzón thanking him for initiating an investigation into the actions of David Addington, John Yoo, Doug Feith, Alberto Gonzales and two others for the crime of the unlawful justification of torture.
The letter below continues to request that Judge Garzón continue his process with an investigation of Dick Cheney and George Bush.

Click on the letter, print it, sign it and send it to Judge Garzón. Let´s let him know that Americans appreciate what he is doing.



Below is an English translation of the letter.


Judge Baltasar Garzón

With this letter I would like to thank you for initiating legal actions against the authors of the documents that justified the use of torture by the Administration of George Bush. You deserve the thanks of the entire world for your work; and you especially deserve the gratitude of the people of the United States of America for opening the processes that will find the guilty parties and thereby allow the USA to begin to clean up its international reputation. I hope that these investigations will serve as examples that will be continued here in America. The six men that you are investigating used the power of the USA to torture and jail inocent men and your investigation is an act of courage.

Mr. Garzón, thanks to your international reputation as the hero of the innocents, I would like to ask you with great respect that you open up an investigation of two men who are guilty of thousands of unjust deaths and hundreds of tortures and illegal incarcerations without the due process of law. Those two men, guilty of initiating illegal war and of kidnapping with murder are George Walker Bush and Richard Cheney. Mr. Garzón, these men should abnswer for their crimes.

It is clear that there may be great danger involved with opening a process against a President of the United States, but you are the one person with sufficient international stature to do so. Please, put justice before caution. There are thousands of dead and injured, thousands of men who were robbed of long years of their lives who are crying for justice. I believe that you can represent those men and women. I believe that, once again, you will let the world


Signed,

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I noticed that you calculated the individual debt of each of the 117 million American tax payers to be $88 dollars. Using the figures you have posted on your blog, I have calculated the debt to be $88,000. Perhaps you intended to place a coma where a period exist?

Chris Ferrell said...

Actually the Spanish notation of numbers uses a comma where we use a period and vice versa. I got my wires crossed.
I will fix it and update it as well.

Anonymous said...

let's send new letters of support to the spanish to fully prosecute the malignant bush administration for their war crimes...dr. shawna murray md

Chris Ferrell said...

I will write a new letter. Shawna and thanks for the idea.