By United Nations General Assembly resolution of Dec. 11, 1946 the Nuremberg Principles were adopted as part of international law. There is no statute of limitations for these crimes.
War Criminals
The following high government officers of the United States have commited acts which constitute war crimes, crimes against peace or against humanity as defined in international law.
Bush, George W. -- President of the United States.
Initiated and waged a war of aggression against Iraq, a country which had neither attacked nor threatened the United States. Decreed that persons captured in the "war on terror" be denied the status of prisoner-of-war, even if captured on the battlefield, but designated "unlawful combatants," not eligible for the protection of the Geneva Conventions. This declaration, and the "appropriate and consistent with military necessity" exception from humane treatment (President Bush Memorandum of Feb. 7, 2002), and subsequent actions by other high government officials in his administration, make him ultimately directly responsible for the policies and practices that led to the abuse, torture and murder of prisoners being held in Guantanamo and in prison camps in Afghanistan and Iraq.
(George W. Bush has been reelected and will be inaugurated on Jan. 20 as President of the United States. More than half of the people surveyed in a recent BBC World Service poll of 21 countries believe that the world is a more dangerous place, now that George W. Bush has been reelected.)
Cheney, Richard H. -- Vice-President of the United States.
Urged the President to undertake a war of aggression against Iraq, a country which had neither attacked nor threatened the United States. Played major role in the planning and initiation of the war, and falsely defended it's supposed justification.
(Richard B. Cheney has been reelected and will be inaugurated on Jan. 20 as Vice-President of the United States.)
Rumsfeld, Donald H. -- Secretary of Defense.
Planned, initiated and waged an illegal war against Iraq, a country which had neither attacked nor threatened the United States. Established policies for detention and interrogation of prisoners by his memorandum of Jan. 15, 2003 and other documents which he knew were in violation of the Geneva conventions. His policies led to the murder and torture of prisoners held by U.S. forces.
Wolfowitz, Paul D. -- Deputy Secretary of Defense.
One of the principals in urging the President to adopt a preemptive war doctrine, which led to the planning and initiation of an aggressive war against Iraq, a country which had neither attacked nor threatened the United States.
Ashcroft, John M. -- Attorney General.
Overall responsible for Justice Department decisions and policies, including the memorandum (see below), which set out the legal basis the Geneva Conventions and the U.S. War Crimes Act did not apply to Afghan and Al-Qaeda detainees. Issued Feb. 1, 2002 letter to President Bush which summarized the reasons why the Geneva Conventions did not apply to al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners. These legal opinions led to policies and practices which resulted in the illegal detention, torture and murder of prisoners held by U.S. forces.
Gonzales, Alberto R. -- Counsel to the President.>
Originated the Jan. 18 and 25 memoranda which declared the Geneva Conventions as quaint and obsolete, hence not binding on the President. This led to the abuse, torture and murder of prisoners held by U.S. forces.
(Alberto Gonzales has been nominated by President Bush to be the next Attorney General of the United States.)
Bybee, Jay S. -- (Formerly) Assistant Attorney General.
As head of the Justice department's Office of Legal Counsel, issued a variety of legal opinions binding on the government, which concluded that the President's role as commander-in-chief during wartime gave him the authority to supersede international conventions and U.S. laws against torture. Defined as torture only pain "of such a high level of intensity that the pain is difficult for the subject to endure" such as that resulting from "loss of a limb, organ failure or imminent death." These procedures led to the abuse, torture and murder of prisoners held by U.S. forces.
(Jay S. Bybee was appointed by President Bush as a judge of the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.)
Sanchez, Ricardo S. -- Lieutenant General, U.S. Army.
In direct command of U.S. military forces in Iraq, instituted and approved policies of interrogation which led to the torture and murder of prisoners held by U.S. forces.
Miller, Geoffrey D. -- Major General, U.S. Army.
Instituted in the Guantanamo prison camp interrogation procedures tantamount to torture and later recommended the use of similar procedures in Iraq.
(Maj. Gen. Miller is now in charge of all U.S. prison facilities in Iraq.)
For the definition of war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace go to War Crimes.
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Historical Note:
The crimes for which the leaders and citizens of the warring European Axis countries would be tried were established during the Yalta and subsequent conferences of the Allies during World War II. After the war, representatives of Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the United States met in London and signed the the London Agreement of August 8, 1945, which established an International Military Tribunal for trial of Nazi war criminals and set out in the annexed Charter to that agreement a definition of the offenses for which they would be tried. These definitions were later adopted and issued as Control Council (for Germany) Law No. 10, entitled "Punishment of War Crimes, Crimes Against Peace and Against Humanity," Dec. 20, 1945. They are now recognized as the Nuremberg Principles.
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