May 31st, 2008 by Manila Ryce
After giving what I can only imagine was a purely factual and objectively reasoned talk on international relations at the literary Hay Festival in Wales, former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton escaped an attempted citizen’s arrest by columnist and activist George Monbiot. As Bolton ran from the foreign threat of justice, two large security guards blocked Monbiot from serving him a charge sheet.
After being released by Bolton’s goons, Monbiot attempted to catch up to the war criminal in a rain-soaked chase scene through a tented village but was unable to grasp the slippery snake. The former US ambassador to the UN is a key chickenhawk who favored “regime change” in Iraq prior to the 2003 invasion and is currently a huge proponent of attacking Iran to “win” in Iraq.
Under the Serious and Organized Crime and Police Act of 2005, a citizen can carry out an arrest if they believe someone else to be guilty of a crime. Monbiot said he was “disappointed” to have been obstructed by Bolton’s guards, adding that “this was a serious attempt to bring one of the perpetrators of the Iraq war to justice, for what is described under the Nuremberg Principles as an international crime.”
You can visit Monbiot’s website to view the charge sheet against Bolton
During Bolton’s talk to an audience of 600, Monbiot asked what the difference was between him and a Nazi war criminal. Bolton’s answer was that the Iraq War was legal. He added, “This is not my personal opinion, this is the opinion of the entire legal apparatus of the US government.”
After running like a coward from the arrest, Bolton later brushed off the incident as “comic” and gave completely ass-backwards definitions of democracy and fascism to explain why he doesn’t belong in jail right now.
“I think there’s a larger issue here. You have a democratically elected parliament and its government assessed the war as legal and proper.”
When individuals took actions outside the law, in their eyes to bring those responsible for the war to justice, “that is the point you move towards lawlessness and fascism,” he said.
And when one’s views do match those of the democratically elected government, “you have to accept that”, he added.
Yeah, apparently fascism arises when citizens have the power to hold their elected officials accountable, and democracy is achieved whenever those citizens completely surrender their power and accept that everything those officials do is legal. By Bolton’s logic, officials have the never-ending gift of immunity, and Thomas Jefferson was making a case for fascism with this statement: “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”
Additionally, it was MLK who reminded us that everything Hitler did in Nazi Germany was legal. So no, there actually is no difference between Bolton and a Nazi war criminal in that regard.
If Bolton’s argument regarding legality is irrelevant to the issue of him being a war criminal, how exactly do he and other officials justify their actions when the citizens of that supposedly “democratic” government stop accepting their lies and start confronting them directly? They don’t. They run like hell (like they did from Vietnam).
Spain’s conservative opposition Popular Party conceded defeat yesterday, saying that the ruling Socialist Workers Party, led by Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero, appeared to have won the elections. The socialists secured 169 seats, falling short of the 176 needed for an overall majority, and will likely form alliances with smaller regional parties in order to govern.
The United Nations Security Council has condemned rebel attacks on the Chadian capital of Ndjamena in a non-binding resolution which gives other countries the green light to back the corrupt Chadian government. “The Security Council calls upon member states to provide support in conformity with the United Nations charter as requested by the government of Chad,” said current council president Ricardo Alberto Arias. An initial draft by France to support President Idriss Déby Itno of Chad “by all necessary means,” was changed to satisfy Russia for what was seen as a reference to military aid.
Around 100 sheep were witnessed by a farmer and passers-by in the UK as they formed an orderly ring for about 10 minutes before dispersing. Estate agent Russell Bird, who took the photographs, said, “I was quite taken aback. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I did see a dog worrying sheep nearby beforehand and the dog ran off round the hedge in a different field, so I don’t know if they were discussing that.”