War Crimes, USA

In normal times, suggesting that the leaders of our country might have committed war crimes would violate a firm taboo in American political discussion. Yet in the post-Abu-Ghraib era—and especially as President Bush has quarreled with Congress over the McCain amendment prohibiting abuse of all detainees in U.S. custody—observers can no longer profess shock at the idea that criminal breaches of humanitarian law have occurred. According to a recent editorial in the Washington Post, the amendment "would mandate an end to the hundreds of cases of torture and inhumane treatment, many of them qualifying as war crimes, that have been documented by the International Red Cross, and the Army itself at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in Afghanistan and Iraq, and elsewhere."

With the White House on the defensive about its justifications for the invasion of Iraq, and with European governments in an uproar over whether American abuse of prisoners has taken place in bases on the continent, scrutiny of alleged U.S. war crimes looks sure to intensify. And if debate about this inflammatory topic begins to rage, a new book, edited by Jeremy Brecher, Jill Cutler, and Brendan Smith, promises to add fuel to the fire. In the Name of Democracy: American War Crimes in Iraq and Beyond collects damning official documents, leaked e-mails, testimonies, commentaries, and investigative articles. Together, these items make a strong case that Bush administration actions overseas violate international norms and treaties, and that those responsible are subject to legal repercussions.

Are we actually going to see Donald Rumsfeld stand trial? Motherjones.com talked to the editors about why the issue of war crimes may become an ever-sharper thorn in the side of administration officials, about the potential and the limitations of international law, and about the obligation of citizens to prevent further crimes from being committed.

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