Nuremberg Principle III states
"The fact that a person who committed an act which constitutes a crime under international law acted as Head of State or responsible government official does not relieve him from responsibility under international law."
The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him.
President Obama declares the obvious, that the use of Waterboarding was torture. After all we put Japanese officials to death for its use during WW2.
However, the deeper issue now is what should we do with those that authorized torture?
At the highest levels of government we have Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and other members of the Bush Administration that should face justice for their acts in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to the Nuremberg Principles, a set of guidelines on what constitutes a war crime, acts of torture authorized by government officials demands international justice. The Bush Administration, any previous Administration, or any government official should have to face justice for their actions when they commit crimes against peace, war crimes, or crimes against humanity.
According to the Nuremberg Principles, torture would be considered a war crime and possibly a crime against humanity. Bush Administration officials should also be tried for crimes against humanity for their deliberate lies, misinformation, and acts leading to the death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians.
Humanity demands justice and Bush Administration officials need to face a war crimes tribunal. It is imperative that those that authorized such atrocities face justice so that the world will see less use of these inhumane decisions, acts, and procedures in the future.
