It's only been 10 weeks since George Bush left the White House. Former members of the regime are entering into lucrative careers with military contractors, becoming lobbyists, consulting with right-wing think-tanks, or continuing as spokespeople for the US empire.
But some are entering, or returning to, academia. War Criminals Watch is going to students, faculty, and other members of universities with the challenge: Will these criminals ever face justice for the war crimes and crimes against humanity? Will people allow a John Yoo or a Condozeeza Rice -- or a Douglas Feith who cooked up the justification of the Iraq invasion -- to teach, write, speak publicly without being challenged? Will the brand "war criminal" follow them wherever they go, or will the be seen as normal human beings?
The motto of of War Criminals Watch is "no sanctuary from prosecution." The project is allied with other groups who are working on the legal cases and assembling evidence. We are not organizing people to appeal to Congress to prosecute. We are going among the people to create a political situation where, more and more, the continuation of these crimes -- no matter who is the president -- is not acceptable.
Here is a sample of a message sent to students at Georgetown University:
George Tenet held the position of Director of Central Intelligence (1997-2004) during the George W. Bush administration. Today he is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University.
George Tenet:
- Shares responsibility for policy of war and torture.
- Presented Bush with blueprint for "war on terror."
- Allowed erroneous information about WMD in Iraq to be used to justify attack on Iraq.
- Was CIA director when CIA was authorized to use waterboarding.
People of conscience must insist on accountability for the actions of U.S. officials. If you're interested in getting involved to get Tenet out of Georgetown and prosecuted, please contact warcriminalswatch@worldcantwait.net.
Help organize an Unwelcoming Committee for George J. Tenet! Douglas Feith's contract at Georgetown was not renewed because of student and faculty protest. Let's do it again!
John Negroponte is at Yale. Douglas Feith is at Harvard. Torture professor John Yoo is at UC Berkeley, on loan to Chapman University. Condoleeza Rice is at Stanford, as is Donald Rumsfeld. There's a whole country to cover.
Stay tuned for more on how to be involved in the War Criminals Watch. To get things started, please donate for this special project.
War Criminals Watch is a project of World Can't Wait and is endorsed by AfterDowningStreet.org and Veterans for Peace.
War Criminals Watch Advisory Board:
H. Candace Gorman, lawyer for Guantanamo detainees
Ray McGovern, former CIA agent and authority on war crimes
David Swanson, writer and initiator of After Downing Street, tracing the Bush war crimes
Lawrence Velvel, Dean of Massachusetts School of Law
