In October, a group of U.S. and European human rights organizations brought a legal complaint against Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld accusing him of responsibility for torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. The complaint was brought to prosecutors during Rumsfeld's visit to France under their universal jurisdiction statute for torture, which required that the suspect be on French soil at the time of the complaint. This week, prosecutors threw out the suit.

The FIDH [one of the organizations] said it had received a letter from the prosecutors' office ruling that Rumsfeld benefited from a "customary" immunity from prosecution granted to heads of state and government and foreign ministers, even after they left office.

It said in a statement it was "astonished at such a mistaken argument" and said customary immunity from prosecution did not exist under international law.

The FIDH is flat wrong. Many rules of customary international law protect states and their officials from interference by foreign courts. In this instance, the customary international law protecting Rumsfeld is called immunity ratione materiae. It protects government officials for acts committed in their official capacities. Such immunity continues even when the official has left office.

The reason for the rule is that individuals should not be prosecuted in foreign countries for acts which are fairly attributable to the state. That would too easily lead to a political game whereby government officials face retaliation for the way they choose to run their countries. Most courts are not interested in being used in that manner and so customary rules have developed to prevent it. Similarly, most governments are not too keen on being on the wrong end of such gameplaying so they also discourage it.

In this case, even if Rumsfeld actually ordered torture or merely allowed it to happen, the administration of the prisons and the development of interrogation policy are undoubtedly acts of state. More than that, these acts are completely within the scope of the Secretary of Defense's official duties. The French prosecutors correctly note that customary international law requires them to dismiss the suit.

This is the third time European governments have dismissed torture suits against Rumsfeld. In 2004 and 2006, suits by the FIDH were dismissed by German prosecutors because the lawsuits did not meet the requirements of Germany's universal jurisdiction statute. Now France. It's funny; the Left keeps insisting that we've alienated and angered our allies in Europe.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 08:39 PM | Comments (12)
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Interesting as always precis by Allah on the quiet American shift towards more training off Iraqi forces, finishing off with a piece from Roggio's site about the Iraqi Army's growth in both numbers and competence.

Posted by: Ace at 05:33 PM | Comments (4)
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I agree.

California lefties are attempting a state level party censure of Dianne Feinstein over her vote to confirm AG Mukasey, and the Democratic establishment is ripping them as "fringe" and "pre-nursing home."

And remember, "worse than Bush" is therefore also "worse than Hitler." Though the Boston Globe's very liberal columnist Alex Beam chides his liberal fellow travelers for descending to such naive comparisons.

Posted by: Ace at 05:25 PM | Comments (13)
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Still behind 72 hours out... but not by much, a poll says. 44-43 in favor of the left (Labour Party), 52-48 when voters are asked to only choose between the conservatives (Liberal Party) and left (Labour).

Kevin Rudd, who will be PM if Labour can capture 30 or more additional seats in parliament, is featured in this funny video, where he picks out his ear wax and then eats it.

Posted by: Ace at 11:56 AM | Comments (17)
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Not quite the very last gasp, but you can hear the death rattle in the labored breathing. Attacking civilians in areas where the Anbar Awakening has taken hold results in the deaths of 18 innocents... and lots of not-so-innocent Al Qaeda.

For example:

Al Qaeda in Iraq also struck at the village of Al Kulaiyah in Diyala province. "Villagers from Shiite Al-Ambagiyah tribe defended themselves and in the ensuing clashes nine people were killed," AFP reported. "Seven fighters from Al-Qaeda and two from the Ambagiyah tribe were killed in the gun battle that lasted an hour," said police Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Abdullah.

Seven Al Qaeda "warrriors" put into the grave to kill two villagers? You boys aren't very good against armed opponents, eh? Blowing up unarmed schoolgirls on a bus is more your idea of a glorious battle, huh?

But Al Qaeda is not without a real source of power: chiefly the US Democratic Party.

Thanks to CJ.

Krauthammer On The Democrats: They were in favor of grassroots political reconciliation before they were against it:

Al-Qaeda in Iraq is in disarray, the Sunni insurgency in decline, the Shiite militias quiescent, the capital city reviving. Are we now to reverse course and abandon all this because parliament cannot ratify the reconciliation already occurring on the ground?

Do the critics forget their own arguments about the irrelevance of formal political benchmarks? The transfer of power in 2004. The two elections in 2005. The ratification of the constitution. Those were all supposed to be turning points to pacify the country and bring stability -- all blown to smithereens by the Samarra bombing in February 2006, which precipitated an orgy of sectarian violence and a descent into civil war.

So, just as we have learned this hard lesson of the disconnect between political benchmarks and real stability, the critics now claim the reverse -- that benchmarks are what really count.

Posted by: Ace at 11:24 AM | Comments (21)
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Reducing the carbon footprint by reducing actual footprints.

“I realised then that a baby would pollute the planet — and that never having a child was the most environmentally friendly thing I could do,” she told the Daily Mail.

I'm not really sure why I should give a fuck about the Earth after all human beings are gone. My interest in upkeeping an apartment typically ends when I move out; I don't return to old homes periodically to trim the grass or clean the gutters.

Posted by: Ace at 11:17 AM | Comments (50)
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I used to find this word, oddly arousing.

They've pretty much killed that shit for me.

Fucking locavores. No Whataburgers for you, fuckers.

I want extra cheese, and jalapenos.

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 11:14 AM | Comments (12)
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Thought I should bring this one out of the sidebar (Dave In Texas probably posted it there): Italian high-school teacher suspended for moonlighting as hard-core internet porno actress.

The out-of-hours behavior of Anna Ciriani, who calls herself "Madameweb" in hard-core videos on the Internet and at erotic shows, was "not compatible with educational activity," the head of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia education authority said.

I guess it depends on what classes she was teaching.

Posted by: Ace at 11:11 AM | Comments (12)
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Thanks to Allah. I've wanted to post this since I first saw it on one of those America's Worst Drivers shows years ago. Here the spicy language is left in, so Cuss-word Warning.

So awesome. This cop has the patience of the saint. As Allah points out, the rather unhinged motorist offers an unexpected political endorsement at the end. (The clip is from 1992.)

Re-post of LauraW's "My balls itch" vid below. more...

Posted by: Ace at 10:50 AM | Comments (15)
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Sometimes it helps to get an outsider’s opinion to get a more accurate picture of yourself. Of course, it helps to have an informed and well intentioned person doing the viewing. Too often when it comes to the US, the people doing the critiquing can’t get past their own biases and only see ‘torture’ and doom for this country.

Gerard Baker, the US Editor for the Times of London takes stock of America on this Thanksgiving weekend and says the reports of our demise are greatly exaggerated.

The pundits have finally run out of bad news to report from Iraq, where, unmolested by the morbid fascination of misery-seeking reporters, the locals actually seem to be belatedly enjoying the first fruits of their liberation. So attention has turned again, as it has tended to do from time to time these past 50 years, to the inevitable collapse of the American economy.

…For the historically short-sighted, let's remember we have been here before. Between 1985 and 1995, the dollar declined by 43 per cent against the world's big currencies — somewhat more than it has in the past six years. That period was also marked by dire proclamations of the end of US economic power. But it turned out that in those years the foundations were laid for the strongest period of US economic growth in the past 35 years.

…If you're still sceptical, ask yourself this: is it probable that the shift in the relative value of the dollar and the euro represents a bet by the world's investors that Europe — strike-torn, productivity-challenged, demographically doomed Europe — is the world's economic future, rather than the US, or, let's say, China?

From here Baker takes on the charges that public and private debt are going to sink us (theyÂ’re not) and that Americans donÂ’t save much compared to the rest of the world (we donÂ’t but why would we when that money can generate so much wealth in other ways?).

ItÂ’s nice to see someone who is both a foreigner and journalist so bullish on the US. Outside of Mark Steyn, those two cohorts arenÂ’t exactly known for their balance, yet alone, pro-American sympathies.

A smart Republican candidate for President or two may want to take a look at this column and start incorporating some of BakerÂ’s points and tone into their talking points.

Posted by: DrewM at 10:41 AM | Comments (12)
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