THE WAR CRIMES OF GEORGE W. BUSH:
Where Will He Be Prosecuted?
Michael Haas
In papers presented at previous academic conferences, I have
demonstrated that the Bush administration—and George W. Bush
personally-- is responsible for 239 war crimes (Table 1). In the present
paper, I analyze where such trials might be held—whether in American,
international, or foreign tribunals.
Prosecutions at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials after World
War II will necessarily be different from those that might be pursued
against the Bush administration. At Nuremberg, the offenses involved
millions of victims. George W. Bush is charged with engaging in retail,
not wholesale, violations of war crimes.
The Nuremberg trials were a form of justice imposed on those
who lost in war, whereas Bush and his cohorts are not under arrest
pending trial. However, the potential for allowing a superpower to
violate war crimes with impunity would not only bury the concept of
war crimes and trivialize Nuremberg but might usher in a new era of
international barbarism wherein a lone superpower could operate
unchecked as a world tyrant. In that sense, prosecution of the war
crimes of Bush and others may compare with the historical significance
of Nuremberg.
Before World War II, the international law of war crimes was
primarily about state behavior. During the Nuremberg and Tokyo War
Crimes Trials, the defendants were considered as individuals who gave
improper orders to subordinates. The law of warfare, thus, became
transformed into international criminal law.
Defenders may claim that some of the 269 war crimes were
committed without George W. Bush’s approval or even knowledge. The
principle of command responsibility, in which the commander-in-chief
is responsible for all actions of those who follow his orders is one
effective way to determine culpability. The Nuremberg Charter is
extremely clear in stating the principle:
Nuremberg Charter, 1945, Art. 6
. . . . Leaders, organizers, instigators and
accomplices participating in the formulation or execution of a common plan or
conspiracy to commit any of the foregoing crimes [namely, Crimes Against Peace, War
Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity] are responsible for all acts performed by any
persons in execution of such plan. Art. 7. The official position of defendants, whether as
Heads of State or responsible officials in Government Departments, shall not be
considered as freeing them from responsibility or mitigating punishment.
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