Originally posted by Pongo
I wondered why you were talking such noncense hortland. You think this will be like a rape trial. No it will not. You are holding the whole Bathist regime responsible for crimes against humanity. In order to do so you have to establish that acts were illegal. It is not illegal to invade other coutries obviosly as the US invaded Iraq didnt it.
It is not illegal to defend your country against an insurgency.
Its not illegal to destroy the houses of insurgents as the US has done just that.
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You are oversimplifying. Look at the current Milosevic trial if you want to get some sort of understanding as to how this works. It is almost exactly like a rape trial, that is, the core mechanisms of a normal trial is all there. The crimes against humanity is already listed and defined, no real need to establish what acts were illegal. It most certainly is illegal to invade other nations, with some notable exceptions. Problem is that those laws only really apply to some countries. So for example, the US can invade pretty much anyone at will. Anyone having a problem with that can take it up with the US. Or they could try to invade the US and capture the president and move him to the Hauge for a war crimes trial. It is illegal to defend your country against insurgency if you violate the laws of war while you do it. Much like GScholz, you are drifiting into a very odd area right now. Gscholz ended up screaming at everyone in his defense of the Iraqi massacres of Shiite moslems around Basrah, I wonder if you are heading in the same direction.
Your trying to fit the accused crimes into a mold that will make you comfortable. An international tribunal would allow him to establish the norm for the situation his country was in. How far he had strayed from that norm would be the issue.
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No, you simply dont understand what you are talking about here. *shrug* Im sorry but that is the way it is. You will not accept this of cource, but I really dont know how else to put it. An international tribuneral will not allow him to establish "a norm" for his nation in whatever situation it was in. It doesnt work that way. Nuremberg is pretty clear on how it works. Some stuff is illegal and will get you punished, no matter what kind of situation you were in.
No need to continue discussing this one. If you cant even admit the possiblility that the man will be given a fair trial or that if he was then it could get embarrasing for certain countries.
No, go ahead and slither away. Ive never said that he wont get a fair trial. Of cource he will. It will not be as embarrassing for the US as you hope, simply because SH will not be allowed to rave at will about whatever topic he sees fit.