 10 Nov 2006 @ 07:16, by Alana Tobin
President Bush is said to have purchased nearly 100,000 acres of ranch property in Paraguay -- one of the few countries in the world which has promised not to prosecute American troops or officials on War Crimes charges!
NEWS BRIEF: ""Bush Buys Land in Northern Paraguay",
Prensa Latina, Latin American News Agency,
October 13, 2006
"Buenos Aires, Oct 13 (Prensa Latina) An Argentine official regarded the intention of the George W. Bush family to settle on the Acuifero Guarani (Paraguay) as surprising, besides being a bad signal for the governments of the region. Luis D Elia, undersecretary for the Social Habitat in the Argentine Federal Planning Ministry, issued a memo partially reproduced by digital INFOBAE.com, in which he spoke of the purchase by Bush of a 98,842-acre farm in northern Paraguay, between Brazil and Bolivia. The news circulated Thursday in non-official sources in Asuncion, Paraguay.."
Another news story provides more information.
NEWS BRIEF: ""Escape to Paraguay? Rumors of Bush Land Deal ", Political Cortex, 10/16/12006
"At least two sources, including Upsidedownworld and Prensa Latina, report rumors of a Bush family purchase of land in northern Paraguay.
"Upsidedownworld writes: "The Governor of Alto Paraguay, Erasmo Rodríguez Acosta has admitted to hearing that George Bush Sr. owns land in the Chaco region of Paraguay, in Paso de Patria. Acosta says that rumor has it that Bush owns near to 70 thousand hectares (173,000 acres) as part of an ecological reserve and/or ranch. However, the governor said he had no documents to prove the rumor."
"Prensa Latina, writing on October 13, gives a similar story but names George W. Bush rather than his father: An Argentine official regarded the intention of the George W. Bush family to settle on the Acuifero Guarani (Paraguay) as surprising, besides being a bad signal for the governments of the region...Luis D Elia, undersecretary for the Social Habitat in the Argentine Federal Planning Ministry, issued a memo partially reproduced by digital INFOBAE.com, in which he spoke of the purchase by Bush of a 98,842-acre farm in northern Paraguay, between Brazil and Bolivia."
Now, why would President Bush buy almost 100,000 acres of ranch land in Paraguay? Conventional Wisdom has no answer for this riddle. However, once you understand the next short news segment, matters begin to clear up.
NEWS BRIEF: "Top 25 Censored Stories of 2007:
#25 - US Military in Paraguay Threatens Region",
Project Censored
"Five hundred U.S. troops arrived in Paraguay with planes, weapons, and ammunition in July 2005, shortly after the Paraguayan Senate granted U.S. troops immunity from national and International Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction."
President Bush has always been very mindful of the possibility of being tried one day for War Crimes, so it makes sense that he might be planning to move to one of the few countries in the world which has already provided for legal protection against International War Crimes.
Do you remember that the President waited to launch his attack on Iraq until he had obtained a War Crimes exemption from the International Court?
Writing in NEWS1933, we reported on the effort of the Bush Administration to gain immunity from the World Court in 2002.
NEWS BRIEF: "US demands total impunity on war crimes:
Ultimatum to Europe in advance of Iraq war",
World Socialist Web Site, 12 October 2002
"With the Bush administration gearing up for a 'preemptive' war against Iraq, Washington this week dispatched a senior US diplomat, Marisa Lino, to Europe to demand that the governments of the European Union (EU) agree to a blanket exemption of all US citizens from the jurisdiction of the newly formed International Criminal Court ... it is insisting that governments around the world sign bilateral treaties agreeing not to turn over any American citizens in the event that they are indicted by prosecutors at the court. With the more impoverished and former colonial countries, Washington has threatened to cut off aid unless agreements are signed."
In early 2003, Bush got his one-year total exemption from War Crimes for himself, for his military commanders, and for his soldiers, just in time for him to launch his war on March 20, 2003. Now that the truth of Depleted Uranium Munitions and of 655,000 Iraqi civilians being killed is beginning to unfold in the public eye, we can see why our President was so anxious about his potential criminal liability before the International Criminal Court!
Another news outlet provides even more information about President Bush's concerted efforts to gain immunity from War Crimes, before the first American soldier attacked over Iraq's border.
NEWS BRIEF: "Lessons in Justice: Bush’s European Nightmare", Scoop News, 15 October 2002
"Clearly the Bush Administration has been issued legal advice that a pre-emptive strike against Iraq at this time would contravene international law and conventions protecting human rights. Could George Bush be tried for war crimes? Yes.
The recently established International Criminal Court is a headache that will not leave Bush. And over this past two weeks, the American President has directed diplomats to hammer out a deal - demand from the Europeans who preside over the court - the total exemption 'for all Americans' from ever being tried. If Bush is successful 'The American People', United States soldiers, politicians, and the President, will be exempt from being tried for war crimes, international crimes, and crimes against humanity ...
the ICC specifically was set up to bring individuals to justice, including heads of state, presidents like Slobadan Milosevic, for crimes against humanity. Should global discord mount against the US post a new Iraq-US war, the President himself, Colin Powell and a host of others potentially could stand trial for war crimes resulting from the Administration’s pre-emptive strike policy.
"Clearly in war, the United States and its peoples are not immune from committing war crimes. The current Bush Administration simply refuses to be tried for them ... But the International Criminal Court would by-pass a nation’s identity and seek to identify, arrest, hold in custody, and try alleged criminals – it has the authority to enforce it. The Whitehouse’s spokesperson Ari Fleischer admitted to journalists in July that the ICC already has the power to do so." (Emphasis added)
Almost two years later, President Bush tried to get an extension of this War Crimes immunity.
NEWS BRIEF: "US wants another UN exemption from war crimes law",
By Thalif Deen,
Inter Press Service, 24 May 2004
""UNITED NATIONS—The United States is pushing for a new UN Security Council resolution aimed at exempting its troops from prosecution for war crimes when they serve in any UN peacekeeping operations. If granted, the request would renew an exception first permitted in 2000 and grudgingly repeated by the world body in 2003. It comes as the international community is outraged at abuse, including torture, committed by US soldiers and other personnel against prisoners in a jail in occupied Iraq ...."
The world body refused to grant the Bush Administration another exemption from War Crimes.
Certainly, the Bush Administration has much to fear from a trial in the International Court:
1) Use of Depleted Uranium Munitions which is killing entire populations throughout the whole Middle East -- Depleted Uranium Section
2) Use of Depleted Uranium Munitions which is killing most American soldiers who have fought in Iraq -- "Beyond Treason DVD: The Battlefield Disaster Created by Depleted Uranium, Toxic Vaccinations, plus Chemical and Biological Agents"
3) Killing up to 655,000 Iraqi citizens by the Coalition Force fighting machine
4) Invading a sovereign country without provocation and commencing to murder and rape its people
5) Sexual humiliations and intense torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere throughout Iraq and Afghanistan
Doubtless you can think of more grounds upon which President Bush could be tried for War Crimes. If this midterm election results in Democrats gaining control over Congress, you just might see a concerted effort to impeach President Bush. Does the script which Bush is acting out call for his impeachment?
If it does, you might see a reenactment of the President Nixon impeachment trial, where the President resigns after the House of Representatives votes to turn the matter over to the Senate.
Is this the reason President Bush has suddenly bought a 100,000-acre ranch in Paraguay -- one country which would protect George W. Bush and any of his civilian and military officials whom the International Court seeks to try?
And, if Bush resigns, will he fly to Paraguay, to escape prosecution by the World Court? After all, he would be simply a private citizen after his resignation, and very vulnerable to being tried by the World Court. We can only wait to see how matters turn out, but next year could be most interesting..
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