Citizen's Arrest: In Pursuit of Accountability in U.S. Foreign Policy
Press Action
Sunday, January 08, 2006
http://www.pressaction.com/news/weblog/full_article/arrest01082006/
Last Thursday would have been the perfect moment for the American people to express their collective will in Washington and initiate a citizen’s arrest...a mass citizen’s arrest.
President Bush had assembled a group of former Secretaries of Defense and former Secretaries of State in the Roosevelt Room of the White House for a photo opportunity to lend multigenerational Republican and Democratic legitimacy to U.S. conduct in the Middle East. In other words, some of the world’s leading war criminals from the past 40 years had gathered in one place.
If only the Secret Service had permitted anti-empire activists to enter the White House. Working in tandem with principled law enforcement agents—those who truly support apprehending international criminals—American citizens could have placed these high-ranking officials under arrest.
Many Americans would have preferred to send the criminals straight to vacant prison cells at the U.S. federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., and then have the keys thrown away. But that type of conduct—even against individuals who have engaged in monumental war crimes and who continue to be extremely dangerous—would have been unAmerican.
The proper course of action would have been to take the “suspects,” including the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and his lieutenants, into custody until they could stand trial for crimes against the American people and the rest of the world. The International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration is scheduled to meet later this month. Perhaps this commission could be sanctioned as the official criminal tribunal and then given the authority to conduct trials of Bush administration officials and top foreign U.S. policymakers from the past 40 years.
Once given the mandate to conduct trials of the suspects rounded up in the Roosevelt Room, the commission, or Anti-Empire Court, could then issue arrest warrants for those former officials who were not present at the photo op to stand trial with their colleagues.
The trials could be conducted in chronological order, with President Johnson’s Defense Secretary, Robert McNamara, put in the dock first. The prosecuting officials of the Anti-Empire Court would be wise to invite fellow Americans as well as international victims of U.S. foreign policy to testify or submit claims of criminal conduct against each defendant.
The defendants would likely face various sentences, if found guilty. Based on his role in the mass slaughter in Southeast Asia, McNamara could face a lengthy prison sentence as could Henry Kissinger and others involved in setting U.S. policy in Vietnam. Because he served as president for such a short period, Gerald Ford did not have time to authorize the same level of atrocities as Bill Clinton or George W. Bush. Ford would probably get off with a relative slap on the wrist. Since leaving office in 1981, Jimmy Carter has immersed himself in many admirable causes that would likely be taken into consideration during his sentencing, if found guilty.
Many of the officials would likely face minimal prison sentences, if found guilty, because the ultimate goal of the tribunal would be to publicize in great detail the international crimes of the officials and to prevent future U.S. invasions and aggressive acts, not to exact retribution or vengeance.
The group of officials that would likely face the severest penalties, if found guilty, would be the current occupants of the White House and their accomplices on Capitol Hill who represent a clear and present danger to Americans and the rest of the world.
Back to Reality
If only. If only we could witness an overnight change in the American mindset. If only the scenario described above were achievable, we could look forward to a much safer future.
Instead, our reality is one in which policymakers can get away scot-free when they engage in international criminal activity, such as ordering the invasion and occupation of foreign lands and the emptying of our domestic coffers to buttress a malevolent empire doomed to generate destruction for generations to come.
Domestic and international forces that oppose U.S. foreign policy are too afraid to seriously challenge the military and economic might of the American empire. Instead, the people and nations in the crosshairs of the military juggernaut are left to fend for themselves. And these policies will continue until collective action is taken to roll back the American empire.
The best scenario would be for Americans, not outsiders, to hold their leaders accountable for their criminal actions. Let’s hope it happens soon before the U.S. government and its worldwide partners embark on another devastating military adventure.