Over at the PCR blog another blogger friend, Shannon Hayden, raises the question of how likely war crime trials of Americans, possibly by foreigners could be:
We were once treated to an off-the-record briefing with a former Member of Congress on the state of all things congressional; when a question about possible war crimes prosecutions arose, it went over like a lead balloon. Can you even imagine the firestorm of debate and soul-searching that would ensue if an American official was detained abroad on such charges?
The general read is that it doesn’t seem that likely, at home or abroad, at least for now. That said, JB over at Balkinization discusses in America short of trials.
A series of congressional investigations into the interrogation and detention policies of the previous Administration, or a special Presidential "truth commission" like the 9/11 Commission would have certain advantages. They would require only that the next Administration cooperate with Congress-- for example, by declassifying certain OLC opinions and other documents that should never have been classified, and by giving permission for certain executive branch officials to testify before Congress.
He goes over a few obstacles but concludes that it’s far more likely than criminal trials of someone in the current admin.
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