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| International | |
| US anger at war crimes threat | |
| 2003-04-29 | |
The Bush administration has reacted angrily to suggestions that General Tommy Franks, the commander of the US-led war in Iraq, might be charged with war crimes. A Belgian lawyer says he is preparing a case that could see General Franks charged under a law which allows the prosecution of non-Belgian citizens for war crimes. The most famous such case was brought against the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, and caused deep strains in the relationship between Belgium and Israel. If this prosecution goes ahead, Bush administration officials are making it plain they will regard it as a major diplomatic incident — an example of political harassment. A senior administration official warned that even the issuing of indictments would result in what he called "diplomatic consequences" for Belgium. The State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, said the Belgian authorities should act early to prevent such consequences. "We believe the Belgian Government needs to be diligent in taking steps to prevent abuse of the legal system for political ends," he said.
This is what happens when the Oompa Loompas get excited about international politics. | |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #15 If this case goes ahead as planned, watch TGA argue that the US gave Belgium no other choice but to prosecute Franks. Hell, let's all file lawsuits against Chiraq & Schroeder for defamation of character of the President of the USA. Think nothing of it TGA, the US government won't be involved in the prosecution. |
| Posted by: RW 2003-04-29 22:46:05 |
| #14 I also forgot to put in the following: although I don't know precisely what kind of penalty General Franks and the others would be facing, if it involves some kind of imprisonment, I doubt that he would be allowed to serve it anywhere but in a Belgian jail. |
| Posted by: Baba Yaga 2003-04-29 21:07:38 |
| #13 TGA -- the Belgian government passed the law that allows this guy to file this suit, plus he's going to be trying it in a Belgian court. He's looking for an indictment that allows for the arrest of General Franks and the other named parties if they set foot in Belgian territory. Those can only be enforced (generally) by the local police forces, unless they are going to try to have another country arrest him under that warrant and extradite him to Belgium. That's why their government is involved. |
| Posted by: Baba Yaga 2003-04-29 21:01:35 |
| #12 I'm filing a frivolous lawsuit complaint against the lawyer with the Belgium Bar Association. Here's how: http://paxety.com/Archive/20030429BelgianBar.html How much good will it do? Who knows, but it will give them paper to chase around. Juan |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-04-29 13:44:48 |
| #11 Oompa Loompas. HA! So it'll be Oompaloompastan when the Sharia law goes into effect? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-04-29 13:18:10 |
| #10 Mr. Fermon (the lawyer) is a member of Centre for Research on Globalisation (ie commmie). Do these guys ever give up? Why don't all the people who want to live in a communist country just move to the PRC! We should add this organization to the terror watch list. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2003-04-29 12:58:23 |
| #9 I remember some flak flying around here months ago about how much tonnage we were putting through the port of Antwerp while the Belgians were sucking up to Chiraq--at the same time the Dutch didn't hesitate to send Patriots to Turkey although NATO was balking. Anyone know if port facilities are an obstacle to switching from Belgian to Dutch ports? |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-04-29 12:25:52 |
| #8 "C'ues que C'est "come get some"? |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-04-29 09:42:06 |
| #7 "A lawyer is preparing a case." So what? Lawyers can prepare whatever they want. What has the government of Belgium got to do with it? |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-04-29 09:23:55 |
| #6 Belgium is the country that lets two girls who were abducted for the explicit purpose of making kiddy porn were starved to death when their kidnapper went to jail for unrelated crime. |
| Posted by: BigFire 2003-04-29 09:12:06 |
| #5 I can't wait to see what "diplomatic consequences" consists of! It's so good to have a president in office that actually means what he says--Belgium should take note and back off now. They and France can drown their economic woes together with chocolate and wine. |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-04-29 08:41:15 |
| #4 OK, folks -- remember this story for when the Jeopardy answer is "Resulted in Belgium being added to the list of nations which support terrorism"... |
| Posted by: snellenr 2003-04-29 08:30:22 |
| #3 I think that Beligum will discover that its one thing to terrorize little countries like Israel with these threats another to try to take on the US. |
| Posted by: bernardz 2003-04-29 08:12:00 |
| #2 As a trading bloc, the EU has a lot to be said in its defence. As a supranational evolving power, it's about as popular as a Frenchman's armpit in the UK at the moment. Most people have been willing to accept further European integration as a kind of inevtiable process, one to grumble about and ridicule, but not take to the streets to protest about. This Iraq fiasco has exposed the fact that those nations at the heart of Europe and who drive the process of unification, have fundamentally different ideas and attitudes from those at the periphery. Watch animosity towards the EU grow, and expect a to see a more flexible monster with smaller ambitions in the future. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-04-29 07:04:24 |
| #1 Who the hell appointed the Belgians as the ultimate arbiter of world justice? The Belgians themselves? They need to be spanked. Do Britons really want to join themselves at the hip with these midgets, Bulldog? I should think many would have severe doubts about now. Keep the "Great" in Great Britain! Don't join the Frogreich! |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2003-04-29 05:47:39 |