U.S. Denies Liability in Torture Case
Attorney Urges Dismissal of Detainee Suit Against Officials
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 9, 2006; A07
The Bush administration asserted in federal court yesterday that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and three former military officials cannot be held liable for the alleged torture of nine Afghans and Iraqis in U.S. military detention camps because the detainees have no standing to sue in U.S. courts.
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Essentially, this is an
Essentially, this is an argument that enemy civilians (what Afghans yechnically were under IL) may sue in U.S. courts for the collateral effects of warfare.
Legally, it's preposterous -basically a denial of sovereign immunity - imagine if every German or Japanese civilian who was picked up in Allied dragnets at the end of WWIIÂ and mistakenly treated as war criminals could have subsequently sued in American courts.
( Actually, they did in the Eisentrager case circa 1955 where SCOTUS basically said to German POWs " You are enemy captives, regardless of your individual circumstances, you have no standing". This is a settled point in American law)
Lawfare to intimidate future American officials from engaging in effective military operations against non-state actor terrorist groups. Or just cause political mayhem with the discovery process.
I saw a opportunity to get
I saw a opportunity to get off a good line. What can I tell you?Â
If they were serious they'd have filed in the Hague, four-five years from now.Â
"If they were serious they'd
"If they were serious they'd have filed in the Hague, four-five years from now"
Agreed. That's one of the proper venues for such interstate claims.