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November 18, 2008

Liberal dreams of 'War Crimes' trials fading?

Rick Moran
There was no more outrageous proposal being advanced by the left these last few years than the idea that American leaders should be tried for "war crimes" as a result of interrogations where torture was used to extract information.

Now the incoming Obama administration is sending signals to the left telling them to forget about it:

Barack Obama's incoming administration is unlikely to bring criminal charges against government officials who authorized or engaged in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists during the George W. Bush presidency. Obama, who has criticized the use of torture, is being urged by some constitutional scholars and human rights groups to investigate possible war crimes by the Bush administration.

Two Obama advisers said there's little - if any - chance that the incoming president's Justice Department will go after anyone involved in authorizing or carrying out interrogations that provoked worldwide outrage.

The advisers spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans are still tentative. A spokesman for Obama's transition team did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

Additionally, the question of whether to prosecute may never become an issue if Bush issues pre-emptive pardons to protect those involved.

Obama has committed to reviewing interrogations on al-Qaida and other terror suspects. After he takes office in January, Obama is expected to create a panel modeled after the 9/11 Commission to study interrogations, including those using waterboarding and other tactics that critics call torture. The panel's findings would be used to ensure that future interrogations are undisputedly legal.

"I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture, and I'm going to make sure that we don't torture," Obama said Sunday on CBS'"60 Minutes.""Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America's moral stature in the world."

Obama may be a liberal but he's no fool. War crimes trials would tear the country apart, send the wrong message to al-Qaeda, and not do anything about our image abroad. It would, however, fulfill the dreams of the left who want to criminalize political disputes and punish their adversary George Bush.

Whether torture occurred during interrogations is to be determined by Congress (or Obama's 9/11-type Commission). If laws were broken. the guilty should be punished.

But war crimes trials are for mass murderers and tyrants - not for American leaders who were acting in what they thought was an environment where a devastating terorrist attack could be imminent. The left wants to codify their idea of international law and have it apply to American jurisprudence - a wholly stupid and dangerous notion not to mention a threat to our liberty.

Obama is finding the view on the other side of the fence to be a little different as president-elect than he did as a candidate. Let's hope his education in this regard continues apace.

Posted at 10:34 AM | Email | |

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