Rumsfeld Flees France, Fearing Arrest
AlterNet
October 29, 2007
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld fled France today fearing arrest over charges of "ordering and authorizing" torture of detainees at both the American-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the U.S. military's detainment facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, unconfirmed reports coming from Paris suggest. U.S. embassy officials whisked Rumsfeld away yesterday from a breakfast meeting in Paris organized by the Foreign Policy magazine after human rights groups filed a criminal complaint against the man who spearheaded President George W. Bush's "war on terror" for six years.

Under international law, authorities in France are obliged to open an investigation when a complaint is made while the alleged torturer is on French soil. According to activists in France, who greeted Rumsfeld, shouting "murderer" and "war criminal" at the breakfast meeting venue, U.S. embassy officials remained tight-lipped about the former defense secretary's whereabouts citing "security reasons". Anti-torture protesters in France believe that the defense secretary fled over the open border to Germany, where a war crimes case against Rumsfeld was dismissed by a federal court. But activists point out that under the Schengen agreement that ended border checkpoints across a large part of the European Union, French law enforcement agents are allowed to cross the border into Germany in pursuit of a fleeing fugitive. "Rumsfeld must be feeling how Saddam Hussein felt when U.S. forces were hunting him down," activist Tanguy Richard said. "He may never end up being hanged like his old friend, but he must learn that in the civilized world, war crime doesn't pay."

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) along with the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), and the French League for Human Rights (LDH) filed the complaint on Thursday after learning that Rumsfeld was scheduled to visit Paris.


Does this mean that each nation can file charges against Bush, Cheney and cohorts for their crimes and they can be charged in each of these countries for war crimes?

theoretically

I hope so!

Go ahead and keep feeding the terrorist

Why don't you just move to afghanistan

rumsfeld has to eat to

I am sorry that baby shrubs imaginary "war on terror" that he initiated in the wrong country is causeing problems for the bush lovers. He was wrong to war with Iraq over 9/11. That makes us wrong in the eyes of the world. Once we accept that he is a bungler we can then move on to making him responsible for his actions and make it right.

Terrorists were not centered out Iraq, Terrorist reside all over the world, they come with many different skin colors and backgrounds. Baby shrub led you to believe that they all were arabic and you bought it.

We should have gone after bin laden for 9/11, that is what we should have done and I still cannot figure out how Americans got off that subject and onto Saddam.....oh yea, baby shrub pointed us in that direction.

If they get charged with war crimes it will be just and right. I just hope we have all of our soldiers home before that sh*t hits the fan because when they get officially charged our poor soldiers stuck in hell will really be in trouble. They will also become war crime perpetrators and that would be devastating to me. They are but pawns in this deciet of shrubs, it is not their fault.

October of last year? What's the matter? Couldn't find anything current?

Here ya go:

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/01/rummy-wants-pro.html

Good job. I knew somebody could do it.

Lindyy says:

And there it is "unconfirmed" meaning gossip, lies, trash. And, is not the date of October 29, 2007 a little past 'current events' time frame?

Left wing libbers appear to be very desperate lately.

Lindyy

It is not too late to try Rumsfield for War Crimes, murder and Treason Though. The Statue of limitations never runs out for murder. So it sounds like a fairly current topic to me, I am not going to forget these crimes until they have been on trial. Seems like some would like to overlook those crimes. The rest of the Countries have not forgot either. Pretty soon these criminals will have no place to hide. and as soon as we decide to do what is right , they won't hide here either.

We are harboring WAR CRIMINALS and that is WRONG!!

Compared to Saddam, Rumsfield is an angel.....

I'd agree there, but it doesn't mean Rumsfeld hasn't been under handed;^]

There has never been a time in history that could give the current administration an insight on how to deal with this enemy. Everything is new so how is it that they are expected to do everything right. War is like not other time where you have to make quick judgments, some turned out to be wrong and some right. The important factor is that those in charge did act and did not wait until something happened. For those who have failed to notice since 9/11 there has been no attack in the US but there are other countries like Spain and Britain who have been attacked. I am not pointing out any inadequacies of those countries but rather pointing out the fact had the terrorists been able to pierce the defence of the US that the current admin has set up the evidence would be painfully clear. It's easy to sit back and criticize but one has to consider that if the current admid didn't do what they did to counter terrorists would you still be capable to judge. One scenario than none of us know if the terrorists were left to themselves what would the last 4 or 5 years look like.

Every war they tell you "this is a new kind of war" or "we've never faced a more brutal enemy", those of us who studied the history of war know better, and BTW, before going into Iraq, Iraq had NOTHING to do with Al Queda. The neo cons love to throw around the vague term "terrorist", yet they say little about terrorists in America blowing up abortion clinics and protesting soldiers funerals. Rumsfeld gets no sympathy from me, especialy not until he admits to his mistakes and under handedness;^]

please enlighten me as to the wars that you studied where the enemy was similar to the terrorist and with the enemy having access to the forms of commuincation (ie: internet) that these terrorists have. .....

Which terrorists? Not all terrorists are the same group. How about Vietnam? I'd say the vietnamese tactics were far worse than those in battle in Iraq or Afghanistan;^]

avoiding the obvious question huh...ok so how about you tell me what wars your studied and where this studying took place...