6
by Elmo
That op-ed about Demjanjuk makes an important point.
By trying and convicting that old man, society establishes the important principle that war criminals can never rest easy.
That's where Bush and Cheney come in. Even though it is politically inconceivable that they could face justice anytime soon, forever is a long time. They can never rest easy.
I can remember how Pinochet seems invulnerable for years after he stepped down in Chile. He'd created layers of amnesty laws protecting himself and his cronies, coupled with the ever present threat that the military could stage another coup to protect him.
But gradually, things changed, and the bastard lived long enough to shit himself as he faced real legal jeopardy (though, regretfully, not quite long enough to be convicted).
As long as the bastards live, there is always hope for a measure of justice.
"To initiate a war of aggression...is the supreme international crime" - Nuremberg prosecutor Robert Jackson, 1946
