In an announcement that has many civil libertarians charging hypocrisy, the Obama Administration has gone public with a commitment to hold Moammar Gaddafi accountable for war crimes. This is the same Administration that has been denounced internationally for blocking any prosecution of Bush officials, including Bush himself, for alleged torture and war crimes. This includes the recently disclosed communications with the Spanish government revealing that the Obama Administration pressured Spain to shutdown its own war crimes inquiry.
U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley insisted that the Administration would insist on the full investigation and prosecution of Gaddafi and his family. Crowley insisted “[w]e are going to hold him accountable.”
To be sure, the Bush Administration did not commit the wide array of atrocities of the Gaddafi. However, the Administration is claiming the very authority over alleged war crimes that it blocked in Spain. The announcement is likely to increase the view around the world that the United States applies one law to itself and one law to the rest of the world.
Source: CNN
rafflaw,
“Has anyone seen Cheney and Gadaffi in the same room at the same time???”
Lol – Come to think of it …
Has anyone seen Cheney and Gadaffi in the same room at the same time???
Re the Spain thing, I’m still wondering if a Charge de Affaires appointed by the Bush administration and accompanied by two Republican Senators actually represented the Obama administration three months into Obama’s term. Obama’s Ambassador to Spain arrived in December 2009.
But don’t mind me. Continue.
I wish we knew the real story on Gaddafi and the US. He knows where so many of our bodies are buried that I’m not certain what is going on. Of course Obama would like another peace prize which he could get by starting yet another war. Still, is this just posturing while secretly we’re negotiating with Gaddafi so he doesn’t spill the beans on the US? If I were the rebels I would not accept “help” from the US. We are way down on the list of people they want help from and there’s a good reason for that.
Clinton and Obama has done a world tour talking about bringing everyone’s war criminals to trial except our own. That’s completely convincing! Still Cheney could act as a character witness for Gaddafi.
I’ve already contact Webster’s about the following edit to the this entry . . .
hypocrisy \hi-ˈpä-krə-sē also hī-\, n.,
1: a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion
2: an act or instance of hypocrisy
Examples:
1.
When his private letters were made public, they revealed his hypocrisy.A President who is aiding and abetting after the fact the war crimes of his country’s previous administration calling for war crimes trials of the leader of another country.2. the hypocrisy of people who say one thing but do another
3.
Teenagers often have a keen awareness of their parents’ hypocrisies.American politicians.Origin of HYPOCRISY
Middle English ypocrisie, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin hypocrisis, from Greek hypokrisis act of playing a part on the stage, hypocrisy, from hypokrinesthai to answer, act on the stage, from hypo- + krinein to decide — more at certain
First Known Use: 13th century
Last Known Use: Today
Synonyms: cant, dissembling, dissimulation, insincerity, piousness
Antonyms: genuineness, sincereness, sincerity
______
It is bad enough to be in league with our own domestic war criminals so by all means compound that injustice by making yourself – and by extension America – look like blatant liars and fools in the realm of international relations, President Janus. Barry, I respect the Office of the President, but you sir are an unmitigated hypocritical asshole. And you always will be until you restore the rule of law and but the Bush Administration on trial. Period.
oops, Bushes = Bush’s
Yes, Just amazing!
But not surprising.
The beat just goes on.
Obama may just get his own war out of this. Then he will no longer have to hitch-hike on Bushes and Chaney’s wars.
Instead of being just a moral coward, not looking back and all, while continuing to pursue those horrors, he can affirmatively create a new war with war crimes and horrors of his own.
But the proud to be a a merican crowd will most likely still see him as the other, the alien, “just not one of us”
Wow! This is an amazing story. I think Gaddafi should hold a press conference and announce that he is going to hold the United States accountable for any war crimes that they have committed during the Bush and Obama Administrations. Maybe Mr. Crowley at the State Department needs to be reminded of our actions at Gitmo and Bagram and various Black Sites around the world.
What, no strongly worded letter?
This is just fucking amazing….I woke this morning to find news not of good tidings… Oh, where did I leave my comforter and Joy….
O’ccomplice has bigger fish to fry at home.
Someone stop me from beating my head against the wall – it hurts and it’s becoming a bloody mess …
Chutzpah!
Forget it, Mr. President. You’ve long since lost any credibility on war crimes issues.
President Obama also mentioned that the Holocaust “wasn’t very nice”, and that Adolf Hitler was “a very naughty man”.
AAAAAHHH’MMMM PROUD TO BE A MURIKAIN
WHERE AT LEAST AH KNOW AH’M FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Not to get all Goodwin’y on this but the paper hanger was a bit wrong. Sure, history does not question the victors but we are learning it does not question the biggest bully either.
Oh my! Now what I want to know is when we start holding war criminals accountable a bit closer to home. Let’s start with our own housecleaning first. How about Mr. Yoo and the people who enabled him? How about the Bush crime family and their enablers? How about the mental healh professionals who violated their own code of ethics to establish psychological versions of torture? So far the only people who have been punished are lower echelon soldiers, with no higher brass or politicians who gave the orders even being investigated. General Eric Shinseki even got fired for testifying truthfully before Congress. So much for a credible investigation. At the moment, this administration–and the previous one–have zero credibility to prosecute war crimes.
In the immortal words of Nelson Muntz…
“Ha, ha!”
Maybe Bush and Cheney can testify as expert witnesses — Rumsfeld, too! Just not sure which side would call them.
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