At some point or other we got impatient with the process of getting countries to give up "wanted" suspects to us for trial. And, perhaps the CIA was not actively employed in overthrowing and assassinating heads of state so they had the spare time. And we decided that kidnapping them and hauling their butts out on a what? C30 transport? was well worth the taxpayers' money.
Now we have told a court in UK that US has that right!
See link and quote below:
During a hearing last month Lord Justice Moses, one of the Court of Appeal judges, asked Alun Jones QC, representing the US government, about its treatment of Gavin, Tollman’s nephew. Gavin Tollman was the subject of an attempted abduction during a visit to Canada in 2005.
Jones replied that it was acceptable under American law to kidnap people if they were wanted for offences in America. "The United States does have a view about procuring people to its own shores which is not shared," he said.
He said that if a person was kidnapped by the US authorities in another country and was brought back to face charges in America, no US court could rule that the abduction was illegal and free him: "If you kidnap a person outside the United States and you bring him there, the court has no jurisdiction to refuse — it goes back to bounty hunting days in the 1860s."
Mr Justice Ouseley, a second judge, challenged Jones to be "honest about [his] position".
Jones replied: "That is United States law."
He cited the case of Humberto Alvarez Machain, a suspect who was abducted by the US government at his medical office in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1990. He was flown by Drug Enforcement Administration agents to Texas for criminal prosecution.
This is from US says it has right to kidnap British citizens
This brings up several questions:
- What will happen when other countries follow suit and kidnap US citizens who are wanted? (Do you suppose Don Rumsfeld might be a target?)
- Why would the courts have no jurisdiction here in the US? I suppose we have no laws to the contrary, but do we have laws that allow this?
- Why does this seem like just a continuation of the current administration lawlessness?
- What affect will this have on our relationship with other countries?
None of this seems like good news to me.