Whitney Harris, the Last Nuremberg Prosecutor, Dies

[Green_Lantern]

Source: Time

Whitney Robson Harris, the last surviving prosecutor who appeared before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, died at his home in St. Louis on April 21. He was 97.

Harris assisted in the cross examination of Nazi defendant Hermann Goring at Nuremberg and later wrote Tyranny on Trial, a monumental account of the major war crimes trial.


In recent years, Harris devoted his energies primarily to speaking, writing, and teaching in the area of international law and justice. He was a strong supporter of modern international tribunals, including the court for the former Yugoslavia, the court for Rwanda, and the International Criminal Court. "We should not fear," said Harris, "to establish the principles of law which will permit civilization to survive."





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[annabanana]

1. I'm kind of sorry he went

before we could bring the most recent, homegrown crop of war criminals to justice. . . .

[FiveGoodMen]

2. Probably died of heartbreak after hearing our current President say that

"Just following orders" is a complete defense.

[Green_Lantern]

3. Obama didn't say that...

When did he say that?

[FiveGoodMen]

6. Here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=3834913

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration on Thursday informed CIA officials who used waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics on terror suspects that they will not be prosecuted, senior administration officials told The Associated Press.

Even before President Barack Obama took office in January, aides signaled his administration was not likely to bring criminal charges against CIA employees for their roles in the secret, coercive terrorist interrogation program. It had been deemed legal at the time through opinions issued by the Justice Department under the Bush administration.

(Emphasis mine)

[Green_Lantern]

7. well that's refering to following legal orders...

It doesn't apply to being ordered to do unlawful things. Torture isn't included under that.

[FiveGoodMen]

8. The orders the Germans followed were legal under Hitler

The orders to torture that are being referred to in my link were legal under Bush.

I do not see a distinction. (Apart from: "It's not fascism when we do it!")

[Green_Lantern]

9. well I see some major differences

For one the Nazis were mass murdering innocent Jews whereas the CIA agents were interrogating terrorist murderers.

Secondly there was never any debate about what was legal or not in Germany the way we debated what could be legally done as far as interrogation.

[FiveGoodMen]

10. Terrorist murders? All of them?

Why have some been released, then?

Do you suppose that the Nazis considered the Jews to be a real threat? I'll bet they did. They were wrong, but surely that's what they thought.

And debating beforehand makes doing the wrong thing okay?

Please tell me you've just been off your meds for a little while.

[Green_Lantern]

11. really ironic...

No...I think the Nazis considered Jews to be inferior. They didn't fear them as a threat.

But of course the Hitler card gets played on DU.

[FiveGoodMen]

12. You're not worth the fucking time

Goodbye

[Green_Lantern]

13. wow saying fuck sure proves your point...

You handle disagreement well....

[Turbineguy]

4. How far we've come down since then.

The US was a beacon for the world then.

And this Man kept the lights on.

[Green_Lantern]

5. the world loves us when we save their asses from Nazi domination...

Or wants something from us.

[underpants]

14. The saddest part is that the RW has tried to change the history of what the verdicts meant

"but the Nuremberg trials said" .... what followed was nonsense about how the Nuremberg trials were precedent for the Bush/Cheney/Addington/Yoo/Flanigan opinions


Thank you Whitney.