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Technorati'Universal Jurisdiction': Spain's Judges Target Torture
High-Ranking US Officials Among Targets of Inquiries
MADRID -- Spanish judges are boldly declaring their authority to prosecute high-ranking government officials in the United States, China and Israel, among other places, delighting human rights activists but enraging officials in the countries they target and triggering a political backlash in a nation uncomfortable acting as the world's conscience.
![[Fernando Andreu, Baltasar Garzón y Santiago Pedraz, judges at Spain's National Court. (photo: El Pais/Spain)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/garzon_pedraz_jueces.jpg "garzon_pedraz_jueces.jpg")
Judges at Spain's National Court, acting on complaints filed by
human rights groups, are pursuing 16 international investigations into
suspected cases of torture, genocide and crimes against humanity,
according to prosecutors. Among them are two probes of Bush
administration officials for allegedly approving the use of torture on
terrorism suspects, including prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The judges have opened the cases by invoking a legal principle known as universal jurisdiction, which under Spanish law gives them the right to investigate serious human rights crimes anywhere in the world, even if there is no Spanish connection.
International-law advocates have cheered the developments and called the judges heroes for daring to hold the world's superpowers accountable. But the proliferation of investigations has also prompted a backlash in Spain, where legislators and even some law enforcement officials have criticized the powerful judges for overreaching, as well as souring diplomatic relations with allies.
"How can a Spanish judge with limited resources determine what really happened in Tiananmen or Tibet, or in massacres in Guatemala or God knows where else?" said Gustavo de Arístegui, a legislator and foreign-policy spokesman for the opposition Popular Party. "We have our own problems and our own bad guys to take care of."
On Tuesday, the lower house of the Spanish parliament easily passed a resolution calling for a new law that would limit judges to pursuing cases with ties to Spanish citizens or a link to Spanish territory. Cases could be brought only if the targeted country failed to take action on its own.
The vote was prompted, in part, by two National Court judges who decided separately last month to investigate Bush administration officials on allegations that they encouraged a policy of torture. The judges have moved forward despite the opposition of Spanish Attorney General Cándido Conde-Pumpido, who said the cases risked turning the National Court into "a plaything" for politically motivated prosecutions.
Another judge announced Thursday that he would charge three U.S. soldiers with crimes against humanity, holding them accountable for the April 2003 deaths of a Spanish television cameraman and a Ukrainian journalist. The men were killed when a U.S. tank crew shelled their Baghdad hotel. Judge Santiago Pedraz said he would pursue the case even though a National Court panel, as well as a U.S. Army investigation, recommended that no action be taken against the soldiers.
The controversy over universal jurisdiction has left the government of Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in a bind. Many members of his Socialist Party have supported the judges in the past. But the probes are causing diplomatic headaches for Zapatero, who has sought to improve his standing in Washington after years of frosty relations with the Bush White House.
Israel and China have complained strenuously about the investigations of their countries, making clear that Spain will pay a political price if they continue. Spanish judges have opened two probes into Israeli military airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, dating to 2002. They are also conducting two investigations into alleged abuses committed by Chinese officials in Tibet, and a third regarding repression of the Falun Gong movement.
Julio Villarubia, a Socialist member of parliament, said it was unclear exactly how or when the Spanish government would amend its universal-jurisdiction law. But he said limits are necessary.
"We have not adopted the resolution because of pressures by the U.S., China, and Israel, though that pressure is known; the disagreements are there," he said.
It is unclear whether changes to the law would apply retroactively to pending cases. In interviews, a Justice Ministry official said they would not, but a senior prosecutor in the National Court suggested otherwise.
Regardless, most of the probes underway do have at least a tangential Spanish connection. The Guantanamo cases, for example, are partly based on testimony by a Spanish citizen who spent three years at the U.S. naval prison in Cuba.
A Global PortfolioSpain's embrace of universal jurisdiction dates back more than a decade. In 1996, a crusading judge on the National Court, Baltasar Garzón, opened a criminal investigation into human rights abuses in Chile and Argentina.
When Chile's aging dictator, Gen. Augusto Pinochet, traveled to London for medical treatment in 1998, Garzón issued a warrant for his arrest. British officials complied and held him under house arrest. But they later allowed Pinochet to return to Chile, citing his ill health as a reason for not extraditing him to Spain.
Garzón had asserted jurisdiction because some of the victims of the Chilean dictatorship were Spanish citizens. But that legal condition was pronounced unnecessary in 2005, when Spain's Constitutional Court ruled that judges can pursue grave human rights crimes anywhere, even if there is no Spanish connection.
Since then, rights groups have made a beeline for Madrid, where they have enlisted local lawyers to file complaints with the National Court. Spanish judges are obligated to examine each case and investigate whether it meets certain thresholds.
Under Spain's legal system, judges such as Garzón serve as investigating magistrates and hold enormous power. They oversee police work, collect evidence and can compel witnesses to testify. If they conclude that charges are warranted, they hand the case to another judge for trial.
The National Court judges originally concentrated on countries with colonial ties to Spain, such as Guatemala, Argentina and El Salvador. But the judges have recently branched out to other places, such as Rwanda, Morocco, China and Israel.
Alan Cantos, president of the Tibet Support Committee, a Spanish advocacy group that requested the probes, said he is worried the Spanish government will succumb to outside political pressure.
"When powerful countries start getting touched, there is a backlash," he said. "You mix U.S., Israeli and Chinese propaganda and complaints, and all of a sudden, the Spanish government starts shaking at the knees. Quite frankly, I find it pathetic."
The Spanish universal-jurisdiction investigations have resulted in a single conviction. Adolfo Scilingo, a former Argentine naval captain, was found guilty of crimes against humanity in 2005 for pushing 30 drugged and bound prisoners out of government airplanes in the 1970s. He was sentenced to more than 1,000 years in prison by a Spanish court.
Carlos Slepoy, a Spanish-Argentine lawyer who helped pursue Scilingo, said the universal-jurisdiction cases have valuable secondary effects. Officials targeted by Spanish judges need to be careful about where they travel; Spanish arrest warrants are generally enforced throughout Europe but also sometimes in Mexico and other countries.
"Any country should be able to bring these cases, as long as they are democracies that belong to the United Nations," Slepoy said.
'An Inflation of Cases'Critics say the cases are influenced by politics. They note that the National Court has been quick to accept complaints about human rights abuses in Israel and the United States but has ignored problems in Syria, North Korea and Cuba.
"These guys are not proper judges from a professional point of view," said Florentino Portero, a contemporary history professor at Madrid's National Open University. "They are following a trend from the left wing of the Spanish political arena."
Spanish prosecutors have also expressed concern. They recommended that the National Court not pursue many of the 16 pending cases but were overruled by judges, who have the final say.
Javier Zaragoza, chief prosecutor at the National Court, said universal-jurisdiction cases are legitimate in principle. But he said Spain should not try to intervene in the affairs of democratic countries that are equipped to police themselves.
Even some human rights advocates said the explosion of cases has made them uneasy.
Gregorio Dionis, president of Equipo Nizkor, a Brussels-based group that has urged the National Court to prosecute accused former Nazi death camp guards living in the United States, said it has become too easy to have a complaint acted upon.
"There's been an inflation of cases filed under universal jurisdiction," he said. "Not all of them have been well grounded from a legal point of view."
Other advocates, however, point out that Israel and the United States have embraced the principle of universal jurisdiction when it suits them.
In 1960, Israeli agents kidnapped Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and tried him in Israel; he was convicted and executed.
More recently, the U.S. Department of Justice has supported efforts to have Spain pursue investigations against two alleged Nazi concentration camp guards living in the United States. The Justice Department lacks the jurisdiction to prosecute the men for crimes committed decades ago in Europe but would like to deport them to Spain to stand trial there.
Special correspondent Cristina Mateo-Yanguas contributed to this report.
48 Comments so far
Show AllNice to know there are at least three people on the planet not intimidated, living in fear, and/or a puppet of the U.S.
Great big applause for these Spanish Magistrates!, Bravo!! The Geneva convention if you can read and understand English, gives the reasons for the qualification as a "WAR CRIMINAL" the United States was one of the leading advocates and a very staunch supporter of all that legislation up to and demanding punishment and inclusion of persons suspected of war crimes! Almost lynch mob enthusiasm. Until of course now that they are being scrutinized for some of their war crimes over the last 50 years. (they have committed more war crimes than Hitler did)Now they are wimping out being lead by "OBAMA" the coward and Cheney the guilty. The law both the US constitution and the Geneva Convention, the first a US document and the latter an internationally respected agreement, demand criminal trails for those suspected and punishment for those convicted. The US in the past has insisted on these items and indeed demanded the compliance of all! Goes to show who the cowards are doesn't it?
Let right be done. This is the universal cry of democratic peoples of the world. Would it were possible to have North American and South American Courts with justices willing to do right in these cases to share Spain's burden.
"Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
I hope this bears fruit. At the very least, I hope the facts and findings become a matter of public record. Americans will probably always deny their evil deeds, but the narrative will exist outside this country for anyone, even Americans, to learn who,what, when, where, why. It is important that we, as US citizens, recognize that our American-ness does not mean that whatever we do is good. Our government, and in some cases our citizens, have done evil. If we can't face it, acknowledge it, and vow not to make those mistakes again, we will repeat our errors over and over.
On the subject of "justice" in the USA, one should obtain a copy of Terry Reed's book titled "Compromised", which is available at most public libraries.
Terry Reed was a CIA pilot who weekly dropped $9 million of Central Am drugs into Bill Clinton's Arkansas during daddy Bush's tenure at the CIA. Clinton skimmed a percentage of this money for Arkansa redevelopment and the rest was used to buy weapons for the Contras in violation of the Boland amendment. I distinctly remember Reagan saying that he had "other ways" of helping the contras.
Reed bolted and went into hiding since the CIA had silenced other potential whistle blowers. He and John Cummings tnen started a lawsuit against the government, but naturally, the case was squashed by our Department of "Justice".
Some enterprising, suicidal film producer could make a blockbuster movie based on this book.
Bravo Spanish Judges! We can't seem to get our act together here in the U.S. to bring a due-process accounting to bear on our very own alleged War Criminals. Remember Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and Torture and countless other crimes permitted and approved by the highest officials in the U.S.A., formerly known as the land of the free and home of the brave.
It would appear that some Spaniards have us beat on Bravery.Free is up for grabs!
The US had every opportunity to prosecute war criminals inside the US but hasn't done so. The Spanish judges even asked the US Justice Department if they were planning on doing so and they haven't responded. So it's up to the most courageous of independent judicial systems to do so and that means the Spanish. In the US it's the political element that is preventing justice from being done so no amount of criticism of the Spanish from the US had better mention political interference with justice because that is only from one side of this matter, the American side. How truly shameful that another country has to clean up America's dirty laundry. Makes me sick.
It is 'truly' shameful BECAUSE some one else is required to clean up the mess., America has promoted itself as the 'shining example'---the reality is that they are the 'horrible example'---------
The reality is that it should always be the case that other nations hold rogue nations accountable---and not leave it to the offender.
If the Germans and Japanese had been left to clean up there own war crimes---they would have d one exactly what the USA is doing now. Nothing.
If the USA were to suddenly "grow a conscience" (not likely given their history) and bring the war criminals to justice, several things would result.
1. There would not be enough jails to hold all of them. None of these War Criminals acted alone---their crimes were a result of a corrupt US culture, and there were plenty of participants.
2. Even if the crimes were charged and the criminals convicted---the next sympathetic 'administration/regime' would simply "pardon" all of them.
3. Just taking the leaders to trial is a move in the right direction; but break the USA, make every one of them pay for the crimes of their country. Germany and Japan were "broken" for a very long time--- they may or may not have learned from their mistakes, but they have been decent 'world citizens' since then. If the world wants to be safe from the most dangerous, rogue nation in history; they will need to break America into pieces*---make them pay reparations to all those they have destroyed, and keep them on the economic level as a third world nation for several generations in the hope that either their "Jesus" really does come back and saves them----or they leave that fairy tail in the dust, and learn to be decent members of the world community: they have much to learn in that 'school'.
Or they Americans could do the 'right thing' and turn over every single one of the people involved especially the leaders----to the International Criminal Courts----if America did that---it would move immediately into a 'world leader' status----not just a 'world power'. Given their history that is not likely to happen either.
* A great way to start would be to force the USA to acknowledge they have violated the Treaties they signed which gave them illegal access to more than 60% of their geographic territory-----and countless trillions (in modern terms) of dollars in material wealth that went along with that territory. Then they should be forced to pay reparations to the Native Americans tribes first---then the other people the world over that they have meddled and interfered with from their beginning. That alone will keep them so poor, that will be a nation of beggars----'say hallelujah'.
America, the world will not tolerate you much longer---to do so would be to place themselves in harms way----you are a rogue nation, dangerous to your allies as well as your enemies since you can turn on them like a 'bad dog'; you lie, cheat , steal, and then lie about lying. You do not keep your treaties, and you allow the worst among you to rise to leadership positions----and give them the absolute power.
And then defend them.
The world cannot possibly tolerate you much longer.
Indeed your days are numbered.
And you will have done it to yourselves........................
Well done. At least Spain is doing something positive, not like the quisling government we have in Canada. which aids and abets the tyranny of the USA, Isreal and China.
Kudos to these brave, honest and lawful gentlemen.
Sophie Scholl-The Final Days
I'm all for Spain. They are in this for the long-game.
They went after Pinochet when everyone was sure it was impossible, then, when Pinochet went on a visit to Britain, Spain required his extradition. Britain had to comply as part of the European Union.
So Spain going after these people actually starts to restrict their movements. They need to plan ahead and extract promises they won't be extradited. Even this might not be good enough, the people in Europe might demand their government extradite the unwelcome visitor anyway....
Way to go Spain! Keep up the good work!
"Critics say the cases are influenced by politics"
This is the Washington Post spewing elitespeak portrayed as objective journalism. It's not objective because it leaves the political debate unresolved which is in fact resolvable, with a result against the Washington Post's agenda.
The Post needs to support the empire, and the rule of empire over the rule of law, and specifically, over the rule of international and universal law, which complicates the empire ambitions. So the Post reports critic claims that the Spanish judges' universal jurisdiction cases are influenced by politics, singling out the USA/Israel while ignoring other countries.
But the three countries cited by the critics, Syria, N Korea and Cuba, are not in the same category as the USA/Israel in terms of influence. When the USA/Israel break the law, it's far more serious as the negative effects ripple through their sphere of influence. Feverishly cultivated influence, by design. Small wonder that universal justice calls for their necks first.
The 1st sentence of the 5th paragraph asks how Spanish judges can REALLY determine what happened in XYZ "massacres". If they passed the bar they can determine what happened in any massacre I presume.
What I heard there was someone speaking who had a million new to them US dollars in a Cayman Islands account.
The CIA will reach into Spain and do what it does. Not with daggers but denari.
A process of slow and meticulous bleeding has already begun to wear the American economy down----and the American economy is totally dependent upon foreign investment. As soon as the rest of the world decides that it is time---to "take the Americans down" --they will never need to send a missile, or submarine, or bomber, or troops, or even a "giant slingshot loaded with marbles"---they simply will cut off all of the money---and the Americans will devour each other. In fact, they would hand GW Bush and the others over for trial-to the ICC--for a load of groceries dropped by low flying airplanes similar to the "Berlin Air Lift"---if given enough time to do to each other what they have been doing to others from their beginning---right up to now.
America gave up its status as an honorable a world power long ago when they began to abuse it, they are simply the "big mean bully" and no one tolerates a bully long; whether a single person, or a nation of them. Especially a 'bully ' with a penchant for committing international crimes, illegal wars, nation building/meddling, and the shedding of countless "barrels" of innocent blood. They will destroy entire nations, and hold no one excusable from their wrath. They will turn on their allies on a whim, they never keep their word, and think little of the lives they destroy while they play games with the world. They are a rogue and dangerous nation---untrustworthy----and undeserving of respect or consideration.
Perhaps their only purpose was to serve as a horrible example for history, if that is the case---they have no match.
It is simply a matter of time---
Good Luck America, you really need it.
Let's not forget that other efforts deserving our support are underway right here in the USA. For example, VotersForPeace.US and the Velvet Revolution recently filed complaints with the various law licensing agencies against lawyers who gave a green light to the Bush violations of anti-torture laws. They're also seeking impeachment of Judge Bybee. Those efforts have a real chance of success. If even one lawyer get his/her license revoked, or is disciplined, that could shake up the system more than the rumbles from Spain, by setting the stage for prosecutions.
I suppose the U.S. government will oppose universal justice while reserving the right to universally bomb anyone they please.
At least someone has the conscience and cojones to take on torturers and murderers. It's clear that very few in Washington do.
This article is written to appear “balanced” but in effect is highlighting the shortcomings of the valiant attempt by Spanish judges to apply universal jurisdiction and in effect casting aspersions on this very necessary need for international jurisdiction.
To expect countries like China, Israel, Britain or the USA to be able to prosecute fairly their own military and executives for crimes against humanity, war crimes or torture and the like, just because they pretend to be “democracies” or otherwise is really, as Thomas More above puts it, “a joke”. The recent cases in the US highlight the farce that the US system is in this respect.
The problem with the International Court of the Hague, even if the US or Israel accepted its jurisdiction is that cases are only referred to it by the UN Security Council, I believe. So the club and their friends have “impunity” - again.
That is very “political” too, but in international affairs, everything is power and politics, but compromising justice can only hurt people. Governments are not people and humanity must strive for justice to be applied with equanimity. A proper mechanism for these cases must be developed soon. What is really stupid, is the present situation, with the world’s only hope to have American torturers prosecuted, resting on whether Zapatero does or does not cave to US arm twisting, or loose his power to the right wing PP Partido Popular.
In fact I believe Germany and Belgium as well as Spain have Universal Jurisdiction Statutes for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.
The question that should be asked is why other countries judiciaries cannot come to the support of Spain in this necessary effort to prosecute such important international crimes, which for obvious reasons of internal politics are most difficult for the countries themselves to pursue fairly at home. I believe any country; signatory of the Geneva Conventions can prosecute war crimes or torture, so why cannot some international association of judges give Baltasar Garzón some support?
Here is another area where reform of the UN is needed urgently in my opinion.
Lucitanian: I just wanted to say that the International Criminal Court ( not part of the UN) can take a case referred to by "anyone" in its memeber countries. If no one refers a case in the memeber country, then there is an option for the UN security council to refer a case to the ICC. Palastine has an application on file and once it becomes a state then it has on record a case against Israel it wants to pursue.
Thank you for the information. I read the Wiki to get some gen too. It seems the US somehow managed to hobble the ICC with compromises of their jurisdiction and then went sideways or "unsigned" their accession, and somehow the compromises remained in the charter.
Today I saw that it is reported that the Bilderberg group is now pushing for the US to get on board the ICC again, expanding the one world government concept...
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html
/bilderberg_2009_179.html
I certainly do not want to be a debt/tax slave in an elitist one world government run by the type of criminals at Bilderberg, but it would be a start to applying existing laws to supper powers if the ICC was a little more free of nationalist elitism dictated by the US, I'm sure. I seem to recall reading that under existing treaties, war crimes and torture can be tried in any jurisdiction of any signatory, in fact all signatories are "obliged" to pursue war criminals under the GC.
Will the Spanish Inquisition really waterboard the undead like Cheney and Sharon?
"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!...put them in the comfy chair!" Sorry, old Monty Python humor.
Does this article imply that the US, Israel, and China are democratic states equipped to police themselves?
BULLSHIT!
Justice has never been well served by any state but these three are examples of governments in which the perversion of justice has seldom been excelled.
Lets not be fools! The Bush Administration folks will get away with murder and we all know it. I hate the fact but I know this to be true, we are smart folks on this site and you know it too. That said the Spainish court did pave the way for a court in Chile to prosecute Pinochet (The General and The Judge - a documentary movie on the subject). England refused to extradite Pinochet because of his health. Lame! Pinochet returned to Chile and was chraged with the death of sevaral people in a mass grave. He died before the court trail ended but he died being pursued and detained. Instead of in a luxury hotel or home. A small form of justice but a victory for those families whom he was responsible for murdering.
Remember too that this same Spanish court found no grounds to prosecute Bush and Cheney recently.
There is another option the International Criminal Court which was established a few years ago but has yet to complete one case. They have active cases and are working to bring justice to those who have commmitted genocide. The Internation Criminal Court can only "police" its memebr countries and the United States is not a memeber (decided under Bush). Obama is also refusing to sign the treaty allowing the US to become a member (The Reckoning - a documentary movie covers this subject). We need to put pressure on Obama to sign the treaty.
The good news is that since 1996 around 46 heads of states from around the world have been successfully charged and convicted of various crimes. One recent success was Ex-President Alberto K. Fujimori of Peru! Found guilty of human rights abuses!
Bush and Cheney should never travel freely witrhout the fear that they could be prosecuted for their crimes against humanity. That may be our only hope with American leaders who are above the reach of the courts since they are protected by our super-power status! Do I really think that the leaders of China will ever be held for crimes against Tibet? Nope!
I agree with Javier Zaragoza. Spanish courts are a joke. Not only do the Spanish Government and National Court use torture but they also prosecute those who have been victims of it for denouncing it.
Please check this link:www.gara.net/paperezkoa/20090524/138658/es/Un-juicio-tortura-culpable
I wish there were foreign judges who would be willing to prosecute all the Spanish administrations for torturing basque prisoners in the last 30 years. Of course the basque people don't have the power or the oil so it probably isn't worth defending us. Specially when two "super-powers" like Spain and France are involved in the violation of our rights.
How much of this hypocrisy can a person take?
It has nothing to do with hypocrisy and you make a very valid point clearly. How can Basque separatists, accused of "terrorism" etc. be fairly represented in their cases for human rights against the Spanish or French state, in a Spanish or French court?
This is exactly why universal jurisdiction and trans-national courts are necessary. However in terms of torture of Basques in Spanish prisons, I read the article and see the case is being heard by the European Court. There may be hope for justice yet.
If only 0's choice for the Supreme Court will have the integrity and balls of Baltasar Garzón.
but, as angryoldman sez elsewhere - "wouldn't surprise me if it was Gonzales or Miers"
If we can have a globalized economy we must have gobalized justice. Israel tried Eichman jusifiably. Those responsible for initiating torture must be tried, in Spain or wherever.
We don't have a globalised economy. We have globalised movement of capital, and to a lesser extent, goods. Not the same.
"More recently, the U.S. Department of Justice has supported efforts to have Spain pursue investigations against two alleged Nazi concentration camp guards living in the United States. The Justice Department lacks the jurisdiction to prosecute the men for crimes committed decades ago in Europe but would like to deport them to Spain to stand trial there."
The Justice Department lacks the jurisdiction...? Sez who(m)? And if so, WHY? And if it lacks jurisidiction to prosecute how does it have jurisidiction to deport?
Smells like a can of rotting worms.
-30-
Maybe it is because of Obama's failure to join the world at the International Court of Justice.
People can be deported between any countries with mutual extradition Treaties.
Spainish courts in this instance are a joke. I hope no one is holding their breath for anything to come of it. Its political deflection from their own problems at home I would say.
Javier Zaragoza and Gregorio Dionis are correct.
If a conviction is rendered, Cheney, et al can ever forget leaving the US for fear of arrest and deportment to Spain. A monumental leap for justice.
Someone once suggested refusing to serve jury duty. Is that a right? If I get called to serve jury duty, I want to say that since I no longer believe in our "justice" system, I can't serve on a jury. I would be the one juror to say "not guilty" no matter what the charges or how convincing the evidence. If the average person can get convicted and imprisoned for drug charges but we can't prosecute for illegal wars and torture, I refuse to be part of this system.
I did this years ago in Charlottesville, Va...and was never called. And used almost exactly those same words in a letter!
Write Obama and tell him that since he refuses to uphold the USA Constitution he should at least allow Spain to defend the people of the world and USA.
Justice has oddly ironic way of coming about at times: this is one of them.
Point 2 is the classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.
In the Nuremberg war crimes trials, every time a prosecutor from France, the UK or the US accused a German defendant of committing war crimes, he simply pointed in the direction of the Soviet prosecutors with a "So did they" attitude. Truman commit a war crime by dropping the atom bomb on 2 Japanese cities. The idea was to get Japan to surrender before Stalin entered it. Japan said that they surrendered because Stalin entered the war, not because of the atom bomb. Who knows how many deaths occurred in the decades afterward due to radiation poisoning.
"Who knows how many deaths occurred in the decades afterward due to radiation poisoning."
As of August 2008, the death tolls stand at 258,310 at Hiroshima, and 145,984 at Nagasaki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibakusha
Thanks for the info, but I fear that it's still an estimate.
To me the point is that behind these numbers, they are, each one, real people, men women boys, girls, babies, with real lives who lived like you and I and were one day killed this horrid way because of the crimes of others.
Assigning blame, punishing the guilty, is important only to force people to learn to ban these awful weapons for ever and never ever allow such hell on earth again. Unfortunately stupid people in positions of power who should know better still stockpile nuclear weapons and threaten to use them, even pre-emptively to enhance the power of nations.
If you have some time please read the testimonies:
http://www.silkwoodproject.com
/SILKWOOD.Testimony.15.htm
Almost 3,000 people were murdered on September 11,2001. Yet, there was never an independent investigation and we now know that thermite was found in the dust and eyewitnesses reported that there were explosions, especially in World Trade Center#7.
Over One Million Iraqis are dead and most of those were unaramed civilians. The Iraq Invasion was planned as part of "The Project for a New American Century" and all documents justifying the Invasion were fabricated. Yet, The Iraq Occupation goes on.
The Military's Mission is now propagandized to be "We are preserving the American way of life." I thought the Mission was to protect the United States from attack. I guess NORAD, being given a practice exercise on 9/11 and then ordered to "Stand Down" as the actual attacks were progressing were part of the Mission Change.
No, Spain just sent to prison officers who lied about the identification of soldiers who died in a plane crash.....A cover-up is a crime in Spain.
Barack Obama should demand an "Independent Investigation" of 9/11 headed by an International Group of investigators with subpoena power. As he caves into his Council On Foreign Relations advisers, he abandons "The Rule of Law" and continues the Brzezinski/Kissinger Plan for a "Never Ending War" with U.S. control of America's Vital Interests, OIL.....
"The Power Elite" decide what events will happen. From the U.S.S. Maine to the attacks of 9/11, each event has been orchestrated to happen: Pearl Harbor.... There were 1200 intercepted messages concerning the movement of the Japanese Fleet and yet no one tried to stop the attack or sound an early alert at Pearl Harbor.
Human life has no meaning to the "Power Elite".....Power and Greed have been a bad mix. "God have mercy on us all."
SOMETHING is better than nothing.