War Criminals?

The Nuremberg Principles were a set of guidelines for determining what constitutes a war crime. The principles were created by necessity during the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi party members following World War II, Under UN General Assembly and have been international law since adopted in 1950.

Principle I

Any person who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible therefore and liable to punishment.

Principle II

The fact that internal law does not impose a penalty for an act which constitutes a crime under international law does not relieve the person who committed the act from responsibility under international law.

Principle III

The fact that a person who committed an act which constitutes a crime under international law acted as Head of State or responsible government official does not relieve him from responsibility under international law.

Principle IV

The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him.

Principle V

Any person charged with a crime under international law has the right to a fair trial on the facts and law.

Principle VI

The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law:

(a) Crimes against peace:

(i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances;

(ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i).

(b) War Crimes:

Violations of the laws or customs of war which include, but are not limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation of slave labor or for any other purpose of the civilian population of or in occupied territory; murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the Seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity.

(c) Crimes against humanity:

Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts done against any civilian population, or persecutions on political, racial, or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime.

Principle VII

Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a crime under international law.

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War Criminals under Principle VI (a): CIA Director George Tennent, Pentagon official Douglas Fife, Deputy Defence Director Paul Wolfowitz, National Security Advisor and Attorney General Anthony Gonzales, National Security Advisor and Secretary of Statel Condaleeza Rice, Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheny, and President George W. Bush

And don’t forget Principle VI (b): Do the terms, “water-boarding, torture, or Abu Ghraib” mean anything?

I don’t recommend that any of them travel outside the U.S. after next January or they find themselves stuck in The Hague. Better lawer-up.