7-1-09 10 Most Wanted War Criminals Print
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From Code Pink | Original Article

Karl Rove

  • Full Name: Karl Christian Rove
  • Aliases: Turd Blossom, Boy Genius, MC Rove, Bush's Brain
  • Date of Birth: December 25, 1950
  • Occupation: Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to Former President George W. Bush, Political Consultant and Fox News Political Analyst


WHY? Karl Rove should be tried under several sections of US Code, Chapter 115, for TREASON, SEDITION, AND SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES for crimes including but not limited to submitting and fomenting false information leading to the War in Iraq, the illegal detainment and torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere, and other fraudulent acts leading to the deaths of more than 4,000 US military personnel as well as approximately 300,000 Iraqis. As a part of the White House Iraq Group, Rove worked diligently to craft a PR campaign for the illegal invasion, spinning intelligence evidence about Iraq's nuclear capabilities and ties with international terrorism. Rove was also intimately involved in the treasonous act of exposing the identity of covert American intelligence officer Valerie Plame for political retribution. Learn More.

WHAT'S NEW WITH ROVE? Karl Rove has ignored 3 federal subpoenas to testify, because his old friend President Bush said that Rove's testimony was protected by executive privilege. Recently an official agreement was reached that Rove will be interviewed before the House Judiciary Committee--in private and not under oath. Rove is off on new adventures all the time, mobilizing on the web (he tweets, facebooks, blogs) and being a sought after political pundit.

WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT HIM? While he is busying himself with life after the Bush Administration, CODEPINK and others are determined to see one of the main architects of the Iraq War in cuffs and off to prison. WE won't really be satisfied until we see Rove with cuffs on. You can see us trying to place him under citizen's arrest here, here, here, and see press on the actions here. CNN even made us a t-shirt!

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Download our Citizen's Arrest Letter to use in action!
Know an event Karl is scheduled to be at? Send us a Tip!

Dick Cheney

  • Full Name: Richard Bruce Cheney
  • Alias: Dick, Big Time, Vice, Shooter, Darth Vader, Dr. No, Dr. Evil, Snarly
  • Date of Birth: January 30, 1941
  • Occupation: Former Vice President under George W. Bush


WHY? Former Vice President Dick Cheney has long been one of the most influential architects of Bush's War and the torture program. He (along with President George W. Bush) have a long list of charges. Here are just a few...

  1. Deliberately misled Congress into a war with Iraq leading to over 4000 American deaths and tens of thousands wounded, over half a million Iraqi dead, trillions of dollars wasted, US economy severely damaged, and international reputation in tatters.
  2. Admitted to spying on thousands, perhaps millions of Americans without warrants in violation of FISA law, Federal Telecommunications Act, and 4th Amendment.
  3. Held thousands of people prisoner without charges and without the fundamental right to the writ of habeas corpus. Kidnapped and rendered many to secret overseas prisons.
  4. Authorized and condoned the torture of thousands of prisoners, leading in many documented cases to death, in violation of Geneva Convention and Federal Anti-Torture Law.
  5. Revealed the identity of CIA agent Valerie (Plame) Wilson and impeded related investigations.
  6. Used “executive privilege” to refuse to comply with over a dozen Congressional subpoenas related to improper firing of Federal attorneys, illegally pressuring EPA, torture, election violations, et-cetera.
  7. Refer to HRes 1258, which contains 35 Articles of Impeachment against Cheney (Scroll down to bottom for the free download version)

THE LATEST WITH CHENEY: Since leaving office, Cheney has returned to the public spotlight as the lead pulpit-pounder and defender of the Bush Administration's torture program. He's been busy claiming that torture has saved American lives and denouncing President Obama's plans to close Guantanamo Bay. All the while, new reports and interviews reveal no evidence that torture has made America safer nor that it is an effective means of gaining intelligence, as Cheney suggests. Furthermore, new allegations look like Cheney may have covered up a 2005 legal memo that concluded that torture was not legal.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Tell Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate War Crimes
Arrest Dick Cheney
Know where Dick is going to be?
Send us a tip!

Donald Rumsfeld

  • Full Name: Donald Henry Rumsfeld
  • Alias: Rummy
  • Date of Birth: July 9, 1932
  • Occupation: Secretary of Defense under Former President George W. Bush

WHY? Donald "I stand for 8 - 10 hours a day" Rumsfeld took part in White House meetings personally overseeing and approving torture by authorizing the use of specific torture techniques including waterboarding on specific people, and was in fact a leading liar in making the false case for an illegal war of aggression. He pushed for wars of aggression for years as a participant in the Project for a New American Century.

WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT HIM? CODEPINK recently greeted Rumsfeld at the DC Press Corps. You can read more about that in our pressroom! CODEPINK is also calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate war crimes, including torture, in which Rumsfeld certainly would be a defendant.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Sign our Petition to Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to appoint a Special Prosecutor
Read
"The War Crimes Case Against Donald Rumsfeld" by Marjorie Cohn
Read the entire Senate report on detainee abuse
here.
And although Bush has immunized Rumsfeld and others from prosecution in the International Criminal Court, they could be tried in any country under the well-established principle of universal jurisdiction. You can read more about other countries trying to arrest Rumsfeld  from the
Center for Constitutional Rights.

George W. Bush

  • Full Name: George Walker Bush
  • Aliases: Dubya, W, Bushie, Boy George, The Decider
  • Date of Birth: July 6, 1946
  • Occupation: Former President of the United States

WHY? For eight long years, Dubya steered America and the rest of the world down the path of destruction and endless war. According to author Richard Clakre, Bush's disdain for the rule of law and accountability was best summed up on September 11, 2001, when he told his accomplice Donald Rumsfeld, "I don't care what the international lawyers say, we are going to kick some ass." Help bring George W. Bush to justice for his crimes which include instigating a war of aggression, ravaging two countries and their civilian populations, approving a policy of torture, and other war crimes. Read more about it in Dennis Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment against George Bush.

WHAT IS HE UP TO NOW? After saying he would not criticize his successor, W took another lead from his old pal Cheney, speaking out against Obama on the issues of Guantanamo and torture.

Condoleezza Rice

  • Full Name: Condoleezza Rice
  • Aliases: Condi, Guru
  • Date of Birth: November 14, 1954
  • Occupation: National Security Adviser and Secretary of State under Former President George W. Bush

WHY? In her roles as National Security Adviser and Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice approved and apologized for numerous war crimes on behalf of the Bush Administration. Using visions of mushroom clouds and other scare tactics, she convinced the American public of the necessity of waging an illegal war. She also allowed torture to displace diplomacy as the hallmark of the US foreign policy. Employing circuitous logic and Nixonian explanations, Rice recently explained away our misunderstandings about torture and international obligations: "By definition, if it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations in the Convention Against Torture."

Jay Bybee

  • Full Name: Jay Scott Bybee
  • Aliases: None known
  • Date of Birth: October 27, 1953
  • Occupation: Federal Judge

WHY? Jay Bybee represents perhaps the most dangerous example of the Bush Administration's flouting of the rule of law. In August 2002, Bybee wrote a legal memo giving an incredibly narrow - and wrong - definition of torture, justifying the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques." The Bush Administration later recanted the memo when it became the source of international outrage.

WHAT'S BYBEE UP TO NOW? How was this law-bending, torture-approving lawyer rewarded for his poor legal advice? With an appointment as a judge to the prestigious federal Court of Appeals, where he now sits.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Learn more about Bybee and why he should be impeached
Sign the petition to hold one of the authors of the Bush Administration's Torture Policy accountable by impeaching Bybee from the federal bench.

John Yoo

  • Full Name: John Choon Yoo
  • Aliases: Dr. Yes
  • Date of Birth: June 10, 1967
  • Occupation: Lawyer, Former official in US Dept. of Justice

WHY? John Yoo was Bush's Top Legal Lackey in helping to create the construct for torture. As Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel (whew ... trying saying that three times fast), John Yoo was dubbed "Dr. Yes" signing off on the legal opinions purporting the use of torture was legal as a part of the president's vast wartime powers.

WHAT'S HE UP TO NOW? This defender of imperial presidency now enjoys a cushy position at one of the most respected law schools in the country - UC Berkeley. Not bad for a man whose legal reasoning stirred an international outrage because of its inaccuracy and self-serving commitment to ideology over law.

WHAT CODEPINK HAS BEEN DOING: CODEPINK is keeping tabs on Yoo and won't let up until he is disbarred. Read more about local actions in Berkeley here and here. When Yoo recently spoke in Orange County, CODEPINK LA was there too.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Call for the Disbarment of John Yoo
Know where Yoo is going to be? Stage a "Shame on Yoo" demonstration or
send us a tip
Check out the Latest on FireJohnYoo.org

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Paul Wolfowitz

  • Full Name: Paul Dundes Wolfowitz
  • Aliases: Wolfie
  • Date of Birth: December 22, 1943
  • Occupation: Former Deputy Secretary of Defense and Former President of the World Bank

WHY? A longtime neoconservative imperialist, Paul Wolfowitz met his match in George W. Bush, who soaked up Wolfie's doctrine of unilateral "liberation" of Arab countries in order to prevent future aggression against the United States. The invasion of Iraq was a dream come true for Wolfie, who was a proponent of such invasion ten years before it ever happened. Wolfowitz makes our Top 10 for his long-term involvement in the planning and execution of an illegal war.

Paul Bremer

  • Full Name: Lewis Paul Bremer III
  • Aliases: Jerry Bremer
  • Date of Birth: September 30, 1941
  • Occupation: Former Director of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, Iraq

WHY? Former colonial governor of Iraq, Bremer oversaw wanton plunder of private and public property. Under his watch, the American occupation of Iraq was an example of neocolonial excess, fraud, extortion, and outright theft. Nearly $9 billion in reconstruction funds were unaccounted for during his tenure as administrator. Bremer also procured immunity from Iraqi law for US contractors and Blackwater mercernaries.

Alberto Gonzales

  • Full Name: Alberto R. Gonzales
  • Aliases: Fredo, Speedy. Gonzo, Al, "the Judge"
  • Date of Birth: August 4, 1955
  • Occupation: Former US Attorney General

WHAT CODEPINK HAS DONE: CODEPINK was at the forefront of the movement to oust Gonzales. During his time in office, we were outside the Department of Justice every week calling for his resignation (watch our YouTube here) and had a visible presence at his hearings (you can see our favorite hearing photo in the New York Times' slide show of Gonzales' tenure here and a video of our raucous send-off in the hearing room here) Thank you for helping us keep the pressure on Washington. Our demand for truth and accountability is finally being heard!