David Letterman: "Can a case be made that George Bush's administration is clearly guilty of war crimes?"
By SilentPatriot Thursday Jul 24, 2008 3:10pm
Dave interviewed investigative journalist Jane Mayer Wednesday about her new book, The Dark Side, which chronicles the Bush administration's use (and denial of use) of torture, and asks her a simple question that we all want to know the answer to.
During the Nuremberg trials Robert H. Jackson said:
"To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime, it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole."
By that standard -- you know, the internationally agreed upon one -- I think the answer is clear.
UPDATE: (Nicole) Actually according to George W. Bush himself, he agrees: (h/t JR)
President Bush signed an executive order on Friday to expand sanctions against what he calls the "illegitimate" regime of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and his supporters.[..]
"No regime should ignore the will of its own people and calls from the international community without consequences," Bush said in a statement.
You heard him, Congress. Get to work.
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No one will do SHIT
Vinny Corpuscle @ 1:
Maybe not in this country...but maybe other nations will do something once he's out.
“Can a case be made that George Bush’s administration is clearly guilty of war crimes?”
Is the pope Catholic?
Hey, David Letterman is supposed to be funny and lighthearted. We can't be discussing things like war crimes on that show. Who wants to try and laugh at a Top Ten list, when you're busy wondering if the President of the United States could actually be a war criminal?
Now, if we could go back to throwing things off the famous 5-story tower, and include GWB in the list of things thrown, maybe that could get a big laugh.
david letterman books her before meet the press, face the nation or wee george on abc.
has she been booked on any of the morning programs.
I think this was incredibly brave, perceptive and unprecidented for a late night talk show host to do, if not in the whole history of talk show hosts, then at least in the last 30 to 40 years.
This is Dave's way, I do believe, of doing what he can to help. Applaud him for it...he's on our side.
Now I don't want to be rude, but we all he won't be prosecuted by the United States unless he is caught know that unless George Bush is caught getting a BJ from a Jewish intern.
Certainly. How convenient that the United States does not belong to the International Criminal Court, apparently proving that everyone but the U.S. must obey and be accountable for the transgressions that one commits. This subject should have been closely examined on programs that [allegedly] ask the tough questions, like Hardball. American Exceptionalism at it finest.
linda @ 5:
Ms. Mayer was on Democracy Now! but it remains to be seen if the corporate media will do its job by having her as a guest on their programs.
Wow, between 2003 to 2006 if you said so much as peep that Bush did something criminal, the Righties were ready to run you out of town on a rail! That shows me how much Bush is loathed. Not just here but around the world. And Lord knows it is justified. Paging Nancy Pelosi.. Paging Nancy Pelosi...
Damn, that's a pretty astounding interview for Letterman and it speaks volumes about the media as a whole that such an interview likely will only happen on Letterman, The Daily Show and maybe (though no guarantee) on Countdown.
this is why i watch letterman whenever i can. he's smart and curious. and that i flip on charlie rose to complete my night of tv education.
Well shit! I've known the answer to that for years now. Of course they're clearly guilty of war crimes!
W indicted? Not by this Congress.
When will Nancy Pelosi wake up!
The comment about the intern, well, chances are the criminal in charge would get a pass on that too! How sad!
The YouTube clip was apparently removed after only 2,000 views. WTF?
Bless Letterman, but how messed up is it that he's doing this and not say, some news program? Though, given the state of television news, this will probably get seen more being on Dave's show. It's just astounding that our press is just gone.
That's a fair assessment. Our leaders are "barbarians."
And let's also face the fact that David obviously hates the oil administration. Just like most of the rest of us.
When Congress realizes they hold the power to control the President, they might just do something.
But, I'm pretty pessimistic.
Investigate / Impeach / Convict / Imprison
Letterman had on Clinton and Edwards. Who else could have made that comment to him during the commercial break?
Well only a few people (Faux News watchers and the criminally insane) still adore Bush. But lets face it, he has become a parody. It's to easy to make fun of him. But would rather see him impeached. Lord knows when he leaves the White House it probably wont be Texas he returns to, but Paraguay.
Like I've said before, we could make lots of money televising the trials and public executions of all war criminals. Sponsors would be lining up around the block to get in on that action. It would be a world-wide event, bigger than the Super Bowl.
jimmy james @ 20:
Kuchinich? (sp?)
Mark N. @ 4:
Uh oh! Site Monitor intervention in 5, 4, 3....
“Can a case be made that George Bush’s administration is clearly guilty of war crimes?”
Yes.
Here's a question:
If Bush is guilty of war crimes and congress fails to exercise their constitutional responsibility of executive oversight, then does congress become an accomplice to those war crimes?
If that is the case, then, by extension, are all American citizens accomplices to those war crimes by allowing their government to get by with failure to execute the responsibilities of the constitution and allowing their president to continue to hold and execute the office of the presidency when violating war crimes law for an extended period of time?
Basically I'm asking if there is a point at which we have to say this is our country, and we have to take responsibility for the crimes and failings of our own government.
If American rule of law has failed are we capable of honestly presuming that we didn't allow the situation to get to this point.
When do we become actors in this tragedy?
Last question, for bonus points:
Do you think the consistent and various illegal unconstitutional acts committed by the Bush administration over the past eight years were actually based upon the premise that the American people are too cowardly to stand up and do anything to stop them?
I agree with the other posters...nothing nothing nothing is going to happen to them.
We need to clean house in congress. Kick their butts out and start over. AND make lobbying illegal. Put people in office who are interested in this country and not their pockets.
And the only time they get off their butts is a couple of months before they want to get re-elected.
Jane Mayer said in the interview that she had interviewed many military people and some of them had said that the United States is better than that. But it turns out that the United States is NOT, unfortunately, better than that, which bolsters the case why many in the Bush administration, including Bush and Cheney, should indeed be tried for war crimes. Though regarding Cheney, in an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! a few months ago, Gore Vidal said that even though he is against the death penalty, he is willing to make an exception by advocating that Cheney should be lined up against a wall and shot by a firing squad because of the egregious crimes that he has so contemptuously committed against this nation and the countries of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Billy Shears @ 26:
Everyone who voted is an accomplice.
James @ 16:
Viacom who owns CBS has a $1,000,000,000 lawsuit against Google who owns YouTube, for copyright infringement. You can guess why they took it down.
Bush and Cheney are barbarians. They found many people to join them as barbarians.
As a country we are very much worse for their administration.
Kucinich today is leading a brave but futile charge to do the right thing which is to impeach George Bush.
When it fails and I think the die was already cast, Bush will get away scott free.
Unless and until some other power arrests him and puts him on trial.
I have been watching David Letterman from the beginning, and eventually moved away from Jay Leno. They are different as nite and day as for their political Ideology. I think they are careful in not coming on strongly themselves, one way or another. I did notice that the guest they would have on the show certainly reflected in their position.
I think David was conservative in his thinking but after he weas personally attack by the right in the Bush administration was a wake up call to be more keen on whats going on. I think like most people we wanted someone to do something after the attack of 9/11, but the attack became a excuse to violate the constitution, rather then go after Usama Bin Laden.
I don't know why Letterman keeps biting the hand that feeds him. I'm estimating that he's worth a good 200 million dollars more than he otherwise would have been, thanks to Bush's tax cuts for the Plutocrats. (Oh, wait a minute. Despite the money, he might actually CARE about the kind of world his kid will get to grow up in. Okay.)
I agree also with the other posters.
Which is why I'm really pissed the next president isn't going to do a damn thing about these war crimes.
i recommend this questionaire/interview with ms.mayer
with harper magazine....addington is a major player in this with many others...her book is on my list
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/07/hbc-90003234
Erroll @ 8:
You are exactly correct Erroll (I know an Erroll who has the exact same views and is as intelligent as you, I wonder if you are the same person?). My question is; when they held the Nuremberg trials there was no International Criminal Court, I don't think, so how did they prosecute those fuckers? Can Bush be prosecuted in the same way, for the same reasons?
I'm very proud that Dave has used the late night slot for something other than idiot celebs.
Billy Shears @ 26:
If not anybody in the congress does anything, which they won't, then the only real recourse is revolution.
And the answer to your bonus question is; yes of course they think that the Amurkin people are too cowardly to rise up.
Mark N. @ 4:
How about a funny top ten reasons why George W. Bush is a criminal, I'd find that probably very funny. Or maybe push a draw Karl Roves face chalk in the alley and toss watermelons at it from the five story building. Yeah, good humor!
Captain Bitter Whiner Husein Kangaroo @ 36:
They held the Nuremberg trials as a list of judges from the Allied nations (France, UK, US, USSR) against the high-ranking Nazis. I don't think you'll quite have a Nuremberg Mk. 2 in the same way. I'm thinking the trials would be more along the Tokyo model, myself.
.
Q U E S T I O N:
If the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the limitations of the Executive with a side of Impeachment thrown in and no one reported on it… then did it happen at all?
C-Span will re-air it tonight, ALL 5+ hours at 8pm EST.
There are some really good legal opinions, sound bites and arguments…
.
I wish we Americans were not so naive as to believe our government has never been party to torture. The first 150 years of our history was ALL about conquest and the destruction of native peoples.
As Al Franken has said - 'We got where we are by standing on the backs of those who stood on the backs of those who stood on the backs of those who stood on the backs of those who stood on the necks of Indians."
Dave is asking a question that, yes, we all know the answer to, but he has people watching his show that need to be gently educated. The casual Fox news viewer, the "I like George because he's plain-spoken" folk, people who just follow instead of think. I like the way he interviewed this guest and I respect that he had the courage to ask these kinds of questions. Bravo Dave!
Ann R Key @ 29:
Absolutely.
So...Let's all welcome the New Accomplice-In-Chief.
"Ich bein ein corporate strohmann."
Charlie G @ 42:
Ah, damn, yah beat me to it. I'dve also mentioned slavery and lynching in that list, too.
People,
Have you really read what you have commented about?
Thank you is all I can say. There was that dark time from 2003 to 2006 that it felt like nothing could be said. And I can honestly say it was disheartening.
Thank you for lifting a persons spirit with sharp, intelligent, and analytical thought.
Thank you...
Thank you...
Thank you...
Who wants to watch the trial? I'll bring the popcorn!
Embittered & Anti-Republicrat - Max-Hussein-1 @ 41:
What they almost get at in this interview (that I haven't seen articulated very directly anywhere) is the nut of what the U.S. has done wrong: We have allowed petty revenge fantasies to color detainee policy at the enormous expense of real intelligence gathering. A policy blunder in itself so inexcusable as to constitute treason.
Regardless of the definition of torture or people's attitudes toward our real and imagined enemies, this plain incontrovertible fact should've found its way into every blue talking point in this election cycle.
Can a case be made? And Pelosi will care why?
This is so frustrating. Everybody knows bush is a criminal, yet congress won't do a damn thing
One is left with only the option of befuddling speculation when trying to answer why this administration, in whole, is not already impeached, under indictment or jailed. There are no rational or practical explanations. Congress clearly has all the justification needed to long ago have proceeded with impeachment. I hold them in contempt of their legal responsibilities to the Constitution and the American people. There can no longer be any doubt they are either being blackmailed, or worse, in secret and willing collusion with this neoconic and dangerous regime. There is a vile and insidious process underway to subvert the American form of government and to curtail and contain the liberties and freedoms guaranteed us in the U.S. Constitution. It also seems evident that if this gathering storm is not stopped and reversed by a brave, steadfast and TRULY patriotic Congress and law enforcement apparatus as REQUIRED by the Constitution, the inescapable duty and responsibility will ultimately rest with the people of this once great and free land. The time to correct this massive attack on America by neoconic traitors is past due and has entered a critical phase.
Are we "asking the experts" (raise your hand if you're retarded) whether it's adviseable to breath in after breathing out?
Here's a story you may wish to try on for size by a guy who's thinking about the next step, Freezing the Bush Family Assets:
http://www.opednews.com/Poll/Can-The-Bush-Family-Wealth-by-Professor-Eme...
I know, at least he's thinking. Call it a nice two-pronged effort in making friends with the rest of the world.
Dave, for all his hilarious goofiness and acting like a complete buffoon who doesn't have a clue, shows why he is really one of the best. He suckers so many folks with his "Aw shucks, I'm just a stupid guy on TV" routine and then ratchets up the tough questions better than many of those supposed "journalists" who cover news.
Make no mistake, Dave is just as pissed off and embarrassed and upset as most of this nation of how far our moral authority has dropped the past 7 years. The comparisons to what this current administration has done in comparison to Kissinger and the years he purposely helped ravage SE Asia are apt, even if they are not totally equal when it comes to rendition and waterboarding.
I'd say our planet (and especially our country and the constitution) would be entirely better off, not to mention justified, in putting Kissinger, Bush, Cheney and some others on a gallow in the middle of D.C. one day in the near future.
Allow me to assist in throwing the lever on the trap doors.
Get this: Letterman was once a respected republican.
Nancy won't do anything and neither will this administration for fear of a coup. Bu$h would call for military police state and there won't be elections if he does that. This is how close to the edge of the cliff we are. If impeachment moves forward, then something akin to 911 will happen again effectively giving Bu$h the impetus he needs to call the elections until the danger has passed, and once that is done who is to say the danger will ever pass? Revolution is the only answer.
Cool. I saw this last night, and am glad you posted it. (The YouTube version is likely to be yanked, though.)
General_Rennenkampf @ 40:
Here is a site dedicated to the Nuremberg Tribunals:
Here is a site linked to PBS on the Tokyo trials.
From that page:
Bush's executive order would have no meaning to me if I was President Robert Mugabe or any other warlord or dictator. How could it, since Bush would be guilty of violating his own damn E.O., the fvcking hypocrit!
In response to: 41 Embittered & Anti-Republicrat - Max-Hussein-1 Says:
Q U E S T I O N:
If the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the limitations of the Executive with a side of Impeachment thrown in and no one reported on it… then did it happen at all?
Tell me about it...Even FOX news reported on it and Crooks and Liars DIDN'T???
http://www.libertyvideos.com/2008/07/25/dam-breaks-as-media-covers-impea...
Although, the title "Dam Breaks" at the above link isn't quite accurate, there are a few good YouTube clips though.
The video is still up (or back up) on YouTube:
Jane Mayer "The Dark Side" 7/23/08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC4Kw4wq1uQ
Erroll @ 28:
Soldiers get shot by firing squads. War criminals get the rope.
Frybread @ 59:
The ultimate and complete defense: George does it, so can I.
Thank you Jane Mayer. Thank you Dave Letterman.
Surprised and delighted to see this interview on Dave. This is the sort of thing talk shows of forty years ago would do all the time.
"...unless it's me and my regime. Heh. Heh heh. Heh heh heh," he continued.
Do you think Jay "Mr. Nice Guy" Leno would have asked that question?
Me neither.
crazytown @ 55:
No way! Never took him for a Republican. Where'd you get that from? Just because he used to smoke a cigar?
Mark N. @ 4:
That's because everyone else, including all the Democratic senators, are scared shitless to say anything. Seven years into this nightmare, & not one protest song on the radio? The comedians are the only ones who dare to say anything, because they're just comics,... just like the court jester of feudal times, the only one who could mock the king without getting his head chopped off,...
JohnnyThief @ 69:
It also helps that they are rich. They are going after everyone's means of livliehood who dares to question or confront them.
George W. Bush is a war criminal. Dick Cheney is a war criminal. Albert Gonzales is a war criminal and so on. What, then, are the people who chose to let them slide?
Bravo, Dave. I don't know about any of the rest of you, but I found that moving to watch. Mr. Late Night Comedy gave a big chunk of his show over to a thorough discussion of one of the most serious issues imaginable.
Thirty years ago, Walter Cronkite, or someone of his calibre, would have done this interview. There would have been follow-up questions to senators and congressmen of both parties (according to the requirements of the Fairness Doctrine). The Truth, and not partisan spin, would have been the object of the exercise.
Now it's left to the comedians and the chat show hosts to ask hard questions about the US constitution. What a sad state of affairs.
Dave's "Great moments in Presidential speeches" has long been a joy to watch, but he also gets guests like Jane Mayer and other cerebral and progressive guests on his show all the time. Before Franken decided to run for Senate he was a favorite of Dave's.
I'm glad he booked Mayer, that was awesome. I'll buy her book
Vinny Corpuscle @ 1:
What you are witnessing are two people doing something... and you?
“No regime should ignore the will of its own people and calls from the international community without consequences,” Bush said in a statement.
I am honestly stunned by the almost constant accusatory declarations against OTHERS who have perpetrated the same offenses that OUR OWN GOVERNMENT has! It's like they are trying to make our heads explode from the incongruity. This Republican double-speak crap has GOT to go!
Can a case be made that George Bush’s administration is clearly guilty of war crimes?”
Shit! Does a cow mooo?
wow. go dave! what an astounding interview for late night television.
It's great, maybe a turning point. But ... why wasn't it done five years ago?
Is she related to Maureen Dowd? She's like a smaller, hotter version of Dowd.
Figures, Ms. Mayer can only get her book on TV with a show that airs, in my area, at 11:30 pm.
Kudos to Dave for having her on, doing a long interview and letting her do most of the talking.
Bill Moyers interviewed her on his PBS show, and here's the link: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07252008/watch2.html
This was a very powerful interview, and may possibly persuade some "bystanders" who still cling to the "it can't happen here" delusion. It does, and we MUST do something, or be condemned by history.
It will be repeated on PBS this week, but you can download the link any time.
Great interview Dave.
It made me think of many things, but I wonder when we will start to put things together. For instance, think about an interview with Jane Mayer and Naomi Klein.
Then for those with really inquirng minds we could take a look at 9-11 Truth theories. Here the real enemy includes the enemy within, and challenges the meme of extremist Islamisists. Because it highlights the question of why Bush and Cheney needed to use torture. Enter Shock Doctrine again. Then talk about the current ecomomic situation in America and discuss various scenarios of collapse, with some Naomi Wolfe End of America facts. We are describing the obvious shredding of the Constitution by a group obviously economically hooked up or in. New markets, free Markets will save the world etc......... But we need to start connecting dots here to see who the enemy is. All you who continue to ridicule 9-11 Truth advocates must eventually adopt and honest position and admit you do not understand the case against the government or for complicity. You are a shill or a useful idiot.
Thank God for the brave Jane Mayer though.
And thank God for Dave Letterman too.
jimmy james @ 20:
Wasn't Kucinich on Letterman as well?
One of the above commentators mentioned the Fairness Doctrine. Who eliminated that Doctrine? Why the sainted Ronald Reagan, that's who! And that explains so much of the plunge into mediocrity since RR of American television, the American electorate, and American politics and politicians.
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