A Case Against Rumsfeld?

I strongly feel that Germany should retain the laws granting Universal Jurisdiction in cases involving war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other crimes which are against the basic tenets of humanity, and which affect humankind as a whole. War crimes, especially those committed by the American troops in Iraq, cannot and should not be looked upon as coming solely under the jurisdiction of the American government. For the sake of neutrality, and for an unbiased judgement to prevail, this trial MUST proceed in German courts. And not just for this issue, Germany should retain these laws so that they can be used in future too. Issues like genocide, piracy, war crimes and other crimes against humanity, CANNOT be considered the sole propriety of any particular government as they affect humanity in general. These are crimes without any borders and so deliberating on these issues is our collective responsibility. -- Sagnik Chakraborty , India .

Are you kidding? Germany of the WWII atrocities and the ability to believe that it didn't happen? Germany who would be nothing without the US then and now? How about we pull our troops out of Germany and watch your economy tank! You can't have it both ways. What or who granted you this world-wide right and who are you going to charge? This has to be a joke. I'll make sure I continue to not purchase anything made in Germany as well as tell all I come in contact with. – Daniel Smith

I believe that every nation should take action, whether independent or through EU and UN, to bring the leaders of the US government to indictment on charges of "war crimes", "Crimes against Humanity", and the "Violations of numerous international treaties." As an American citizen, I have personally requested that the ICC prosecutor conduct an inquiry and proceed to indictments against G.W. Bush and all other officials in US that are complicit in the unlawful, illegal invasion of Iraq, conspiracy to defraud the UN, NATO, and EU with false and/or manufactured evidence leading to the unlawful invasion of Iraw, the unlawful use of WMD, and numerous other criminal charges with regard to international law as well as violations of federal election laws in the US. – Rick Keefer

I think Germany should exercise universal jurisdiction and it should not back down from U.S. pressure. The U.S. will claim that any lawsuit against it is frivolous, which is absurd because legal standards prevent that. But war crimes or crimes against humanity are crimes no matter who commits them or where and this has long been recognized in international law. -- Jennifer Van Bergen, J.D.

As the USA has the right to be the "police of the world", Germany has also the right to exercise universal jurisdiction. We have to remember that even the police must be inspected, never mind if it is a local police station or an international agency! -- Gustavo Caracante

It hardly seems likely that the framers of the universal jurisdiction statute wanted anything more than selective jurisdiction. Where are the prosecutions relating to the situations in Africa? Where are the prosecutions relating to the televised beheadings in Iraq? Where are the prosecutions of the murderers of innocent civilians in Israel, or the murderers of hundreds of Russian school children? And what about Fidel for the execution of three men who's crime was trying to sneak away to freedom? China? Oops not China, that might foul those arms sales and that whole UN thing. No, it seems that the universal jurisdiction law is merely a tool to get at the leaders of the US and Israel. If Germany suffers for this arrogant attempt to selectively exercise Universal Jurisdiction it is well deserved. -- Aan Schnelle , USA