Judge allows American to sue Rumsfeld over torture

[kpete]

Source: Miami Herald

BY NEDRA PICKLER

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge has ruled that former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld can be sued personally for damages by a former U.S. military contractor who says he was tortured during a nine-month imprisonment in Iraq.

The lawsuit lays out a dramatic tale of the disappearance of the then-civilian contractor, an Army veteran in his 50s whose identity is being withheld from court filings for fear of retaliation. Attorneys for the man, who speaks five languages and worked as a translator for Marines collecting intelligence in Iraq, say he was preparing to come home to the United States on annual leave when he was abducted by the U.S. military and held without justification while his family knew nothing about his whereabouts or even whether he was still alive.

The government says he was suspected of helping pass classified information to the enemy and helping anti-coalition forces get into Iraq. But he was never charged with a crime, and he says he never broke the law and was risking his life to help his country.

Court papers filed on his behalf say he was repeatedly abused while being held at Camp Cropper, a U.S. military facility near the Baghdad airport dedicated to holding "high-value" detainees, then suddenly released without explanation in August 2006. Two years later, he filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington arguing that Rumsfeld personally approved torturous interrogation techniques on a case-by-case basis and controlled his detention without access to courts in violation of his constitutional rights.




Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/03/2343856/judge-allows-american-to-sue-rumsfeld.html#ixzz1U1kJbdiS

[plumbob]

1. Be still my beating heart! Could this actually happen?

I'd be so happy.

[DesertFlower]

19. me too. nt

[Pharaoh]

2. yeah.......

the fact they they seem surprised by this is somewhat Ironic as they are willing to do the same to others. Although I totally agree that Rummy is a criminal.

[babylonsister]

3. I at the very least hope this mad man loses sleep over this. nt

[tanyev]

22. I doubt there's anything that man loses sleep over.

Maybe his investment portfolio, but I'm sure it's doing very well right now.

[chill_wind]

4. K & R.

[McCamy Taylor]

5. Can he take his case to the World Court? Or are war crimes against your own ok by them?

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

16. The US doesn't recognize the World Court. We are above the law.

[russspeakeasy]

26. Way above....you can't even point that far !

:hide:

[Dem2theMax]

6. And I didn't think I had anything to smile about this week.

:evilgrin:

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Thanks, saw this on BBC and was going to post. nt

[avaistheone1]

8. Oh happy day!

k&r

[grahamhgreen]

9. Thank goodness!

[SoapBox]

10. Very cool...and what a hell of a story.

Or was that a story that could only happen in HELL?

[Oilwellian]

11. Ah, Rummy, the unknown knowns...

are becoming known. How sweet and karmic.

[mistertrickster]

12. The only thing better would be if Rumsfailed rolled over on Dick and the WPE, but

he probably values his health too much.

Small planes do crash after all . . .

[begin_within]

13. Americans torturing Americans...

...wow, what an example we set for the world.

[neoconn]

14. Out of all the evil this man has done...

This one may actually hook the fish....

[No Elephants]

15. What is the statute of limitations?

[Dystopian]

17. KandR

peace~

[Stuart G]

18. k and r

[SpiralHawk]

20. "You don't defend your scumbaggy Republicon ethics with the legal army you want...

...you make that lameass defense of the indefensible with the lawyers you have."

- Rummy (R - Torturer)

[goforit]

21. This case won't go very far. He better have an army to protect him.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

23. I bet Rummy is frosted at that decision.

:woohoo:

[pam4water]

24. Cheers!

[canuckledragger]

25. let's sue his ass for helping to add cancer causing chems to our food too..

couple of paragraphs from the article

"DONALD RUMSFELD AND ASPARTAME"

http://www.newswithviews.com/NWVexclusive/exclusive15.h...

"When Donald Rumsfeld was CEO of Searle, that conglomerate manufactured aspartame. For 16 years the FDA refused to approve it, not only because its not safe but because they wanted the company indicted for fraud."

"Donald Rumsfeld was on President Reagan's transition team and the day after he took office he appointed an FDA Commissioner who would approve aspartame. The FDA set up a Board of Inquiry of the best scientists they had to offer who said aspartame is not safe and causes brain tumors, and the petition for approval is hereby revoked. The new FDA Commissioner, Arthur Hull Hayes, over-ruled that Board of Inquiry and then went to work for the PR Agency of the manufacturer, Burson-Marstellar, rumored at $1000.00 a day, and has refused to talk to the press ever since."

[gratuitous]

27. Notice this is a civil suit, not a criminal one

Assuming every allegation by the plaintiff is true, nobody will spend even a minute in prison for these crimes against humanity.

[Capitalocracy]

32. Could be a start.

There's no statute of limitations on war crimes. The best thing would've been immediate justice, but now we have to play the long game. I just hope these people don't end up like Pinochet, dying fat and rich nearing 100 years of age.

[gratuitous]

34. It could be

And you're right about there being no statute of limitations for war crimes and crimes against humanity. I certainly hope we have a Department of Justice that is someday interested in investigating these very serious matters. Because if we don't do something about it, most assuredly someone else will, and that someone (or group of someones) may not be quite so respectful of the rule of law, matters of criminal procedure, and due process as we allegedly are. They may even be less worried about visiting punishment on the actual wrongdoers and satisfied with punishing some fellow countrymen that they can reach. I'm not willing to be in the line of fire for the crimes of Donald Rumsfeld.

[Liberalynn]

37. +1

[TNLib]

38. Good at least Obama can't pardon him

and if you hit him in the wallet it will hurt.

[paparush]

28. Rums classifies this as an 'unknown, unknown'

[pleah]

29. K&R

[Uncle Joe]

30. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[lunatica]

31. I don't dare hold my breath!

Jesus! He really does have to keep his name a secret. His enemies list includes Darth Cheney and Karl Rove and some nefarious world shakers.

He really is a brave man. I hope he wins and puts Rumsfeld behind bars.

[24601]

33. Yeah, don't hold it in. Every other time a judge went this way, he or

she has been overturned on appeal. No reason to think this one won't get the same result.

[grahamhgreen]

35. It's a start.

[BiggJawn]

36. Rumsferatu can't flee the country.

Seriously, where would he go? Half the civilized world has an arrest warrant out for his boney ass...

[sarcasmo]

39. Back to the top with a swift KICK.

[bobthedrummer]

40. KICK.