Bush Next On War Crimes List?

Now that the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague has issued a warrant for Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, some international law experts are arguing that George Bush should be next.

As reported from the New Zealand Herald:

David Crane, an international law professor at Syracuse University, said the principle of law used to issue an arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir could extend to former US President Bush over claims officials from his Administration may have engaged in torture by using coercive interrogation techniques on terror suspects.

Crane is a former prosecutor who helped put Liberian President Charles Taylor on trial.

“Head of state immunity no longer is a bar to prosecuting heads of state who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity during their time in office,” said Crane.

Although many criticize the ICC as weak, the ICC does have an increasingly successful track record at hauling war criminals to court. For example, Bashir will find it increasingly difficult to travel outside Somalia. Besides Taylor, former Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic was also dragged in handcuffs to The Hague.

Still, the likelihood that Bush will face a warrant is very slim. Any action would probably center on the use of torture, which Bush and officials in his administration have long denied using. Despite their denials, international law is at odds with the interrogation policies conducted by the Bush administration.

However, the ICC is tepid at issuing a final ruling against world leaders. Part of the reason is that by pursuing widely acknowledged violators like Bashir, the ICC builds credibility and support. To go after someone such as Bush opens most of the world’s leaders to prosecution — Putin, Castro, Blair, Ahmadinejad, Musharrif and Jintao.

As long as sitting rulers like Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Myanmar’s Than Shwe can imprison, maim and kill their citizens with impunity, George Bush and similar world leaders have little to worry.

Besides, the United States does not recognize the authority of the ICC. An investigation by the UN is unlikely too since the U.S. holds a veto power on the Security Council.