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Europe
Iraqis target Gen. Franks for bogus war crimes
2003-04-28
EFL
Iraqi civilians are preparing a complaint to present in court in Belgium accusing allied commander Gen. Tommy Franks and other U.S. military officials of war crimes in Iraq, according to the ambulance chaser attorney representing the plaintiffs. The complaint will state that coalition forces are responsible for the indiscriminate killing of Iraqi civilians, the bombing of a marketplace in Baghdad, the shooting of an ambulance, and failure to prevent the mass looting of hospitals, said Jan Fermon, a Brussels-based lawyer. Mr. Fermon said the complaint will ask an investigative magistrate to look into whether indictments should be issued against Gen. Franks. If an indictment is filed against the general and other U.S. officials, they could be convicted and sentenced by a Belgian court. "Belgium could issue international arrest warrants, but I don't think we will get to that point," Mr. Fermon said.
I don't think we will, either. I think M. Fermon is a staunch defender of terrorism and antiglobalist anarchy, and that he's trying to make himself a thorn in the side of the United States. Such a lawsuit will be considered frivolous, even in Belgium. But it has gotten him on the Rantburg "I don't like you" list...
The Bush administration has reacted angrily to the complaint. A senior administration official warned that "there will be diplomatic consequences for Belgium" if the complaint is taken up by a court there and Belgian authorities issue indictments against Gen. Franks and other U.S. officials. The administration official said the complaint highlights U.S. concerns that laws regarding war crimes and institutions such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) can be used to initiate politically motivated prosecutions against American officials. "This is obviously not a political case with the ICC, but it's typical of what we can expect in the future," the official said on the condition of anonymity.
Yup, bullshit prosecutions by bitter leftists.
Mr. Fermon said that because under international law President Bush and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell cannot be prosecuted for war crimes while they are in office, the complaint will target Gen. Franks and other U.S. military officials. Mr. Fermon said the complaint against U.S. officials is based on a 1993 Belgian law that gives a Belgian court authority to judge war crimes committed by noncitizens anywhere in the world. The plaintiffs sought to file the complaint with the recently inaugurated ICC, but "since the United States did not ratify the treaty to join the institution, we felt compelled to go to a court in Belgium," he said.
This is why we didn't join the ICC.
The filing of the complaint threatens to heighten tensions between Brussels and Washington, which have been strained since Belgium joined France and Germany to lead European opposition to the war in Iraq. Earlier this month, Mr. Powell said Belgium's law threatened to hamper travel by U.S. officials to Brussels, where NATO headquarters are located. "It affects the ability of people to travel in Belgium without being subject to this kind of threat. For a place that is an international center, they should be a little bit concerned about this," Mr. Powell said.
There's a simple enough solution: tell NATO to piss off. It's proven itself to be useless anyway...
The complaint, which Mr. Fermon said will be officially filed in about two weeks, will accuse coalition forces of numerous atrocities in Iraq. Among them:
  • The failure to prevent the mass looting of hospitals in Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.
    They would have been more upset if we had shot the looters.
  • Eyewitness testimony of U.S. troops firing upon an ambulance.
    Carrying gunnies.
  • The indiscriminate shooting and wounding its driver by U.S. armored vehicles of civilians in Baghdad.
    Huh?
  • The bombing of a marketplace in Baghdad that killed scores of civilians.
    That would be the Iraqi SAM that dropped short.
  • The attack on a civilian bus with an "energy weapon" in the town of al-Hillah, killing at least 10 passengers.
    Energy weapon? Phasers set on kill?
Posted by:Steve

#17  Hmmmm,

Jeffbrokaw, you say the europeans should get ahold of themselves, perhaps they already have and perhaps this great Austrailian insult would apply for what they are doing: "WANKERS"
Posted by: SOG475   2003-04-28 19:52:24  

#16  SORRY ABOUT ALL THIS REPEATS MS KEPT CANCELLING MY ACTIONS.SORRY SORRY
Posted by: donner   2003-04-28 19:34:17  

#15  MY TYPING IS NOT VERY GOOD SO THIS FORMAT IS EASIER FOR ME .LET US HOPE WE DO NOT HAVE TO FIGHT THEM ALL AT ONCE AND HOPE THAT MONACO ANDORRA AND LICHTENSTEIN JOIN THEM.GENERAL PATTON AND HIS TROOPS ARE BURIED IN LUXEMBOURG.BATTLE OF THE BULGE ONE OF MANY YOU BELGIANS>AND YOU WISHI WASHI FRENCH YOU ALL HAVE AMERICAN TROOPS BURIED IN YOUR COUNTRIES.MAYBE WE SHOULD BRING THOSE HEROES HOME.THEIR FAMILIES DID NOT HAVE A GRAVE TO GO TO AND MOURN THEIR LOVED ONES.IF IT WAS NOT FOR THOSE AMERICANS I PROBABLY WOULD NOT BE ALIVE TODAY UNDER THE NAZIS OR RUSSIANS.HEY YOU F..... FRENCH BELGIANS LUXEMBOURG THAT GOES FOR YOU TO.YOU MAKE ME PUKE AND I AM DEEPLY ASHAMED FOR MY BIRTH COUNTRY LUXEMBOURG AND FOR THE REST OF THOSE SO CALLED PEOPLE.ALWAYS LIKED THE DUTCH HOPE THEY DO NOT CHANGE.THERE I FEEL BETTER NOW.PS IWAS ONLY ALITTLE GIRL DURING THE WAR BUT IREMEMBER.THANK YOU AMERICA AND I AM PROUD TO BE ONE OF YOU.Donner
Posted by: Donner   2003-04-28 19:11:46  

#14  Axis of Waffling Weasels already includes Belgium.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2003-04-28 17:31:00  

#13  Can we start calling the Belgians the "Axis of Waffles"?


Please?....
Posted by: mojo   2003-04-28 17:00:45  

#12  The Belgians trying to serve that arrest warrant could make for the greatest episode of COPS ever. "Be careful, Francoise. The subject is armed with three carrier battle groups, the 82nd Airborne Division, 25,000 Marines, 450 Abrams tanks ... Have you got an extra magazine?"
Posted by: Matt   2003-04-28 13:44:46  

#11  No, really, they do intend to go after the other threats on this planet......really. It's just that Kimmie has promised to turn Belgium into a "sea of fire" and Belgians don't have the Juche to use an army-based philosophy to counteract his ol' man's great feats. Um, yeah. And if they go after Mugabe, his wife threatened to boycott Belgian chocolates on her next Champs-Elysee shopping spree. So, once they deal with the REAL threat to their sense of irrelevancy the supremacy of international law, then they'll go after Kimmie & Bob. Maybe. They promise to get back to us on that.
Posted by: Baba Yaga   2003-04-28 13:30:37  

#10  tu3031 - How did Belgium get to rule the world -

Ok we gotta have a EU central control, how we gonna stomp it if it gets out of control? Well belgium is pretty easy to invade...
Posted by: flash91   2003-04-28 11:39:59  

#9  What a steaming pile of hypocritical bullshit. To go after Franks but ignore Hussein for the past 12 years, that is the very definition of hypocrisy. The mind reels.

The Europeans really need to get hold of themselves -- sure it's a good thing to be wary of war, after the mess they got themselves into during the early 20th century, but to openly defend murdering dictators and openly defy the only country willing to do something about it -- this differentiates them from Hussein, how exactly?

Follow the money. I'm quite sure Galloway and Chirac are not the only benefactors of Saddam's oil money.
Posted by: Jeff B   2003-04-28 10:31:35  

#8  Send the reply by Tomahawk. I'm sure they'll get the message. Snotty little posturing by a bunch of bureaucratic twits.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2003-04-28 10:30:39  

#7  And they let the REAL war criminals off. I hope they don't apply this to their Police force. What a crime wave would result!
Posted by: KP   2003-04-28 09:57:02  

#6  They are going after the UK, which was dumb enough to ratify this monstrosity. They can't get at the US, so the'll give Tony a hard time.

I say we send in the Marines to sit in the court.
Think about THAT, Mr. Procurator...
Posted by: mojo   2003-04-28 09:56:29  

#5  Wouldja just look at those cute lil' funny bunnies -- they passed a law and that makes them think they have the authority to judge war crimes committed by noncitizens anywhere in the world! Isn't that just precious?
Posted by: John Phares   2003-04-28 09:36:10  

#4  When did the Belgians start running the world? I missed when that happened.
Posted by: tu3031   2003-04-28 09:12:18  

#3  What a load of crap! Sounds like more "searching under the streetlight", since the @)#*$ morons wouldn't bother with Saddam, or Mugabe, or Boy Assad, or any of the other two-bit dictators on this rock. Nope--always gotta go after the "evil" US of A.
Posted by: Dar   2003-04-28 09:10:32  

#2  Why aren't these people going after the UK through the ICC? We've put our armed forces' heads on the block for no sane reason and ratified it. It would be hilarious to watch Belgium demanding we hand over our "war criminals" to Brussels for "justice". It would also be a slap-in-the-face wake-up for Tony, and anyone else who confuses EU/UN membership with something resembling British national self-interest. Bring it on, Belgium!
Posted by: Bulldog   2003-04-28 08:55:07  

#1  the bus at al-Hillah. Would that be the one full of Syrian "migrant workers"? If so, I believe we did our darndest to convert mass into energy there. Perhaps that's what they mean.
Posted by: Chuck   2003-04-28 08:45:10  

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