Most respected academic and former Department of Justice lawyers agree that the Bush administration is guilty of war crimes. The disagreement amongst them stems from either points of law in the viability of war crimes trials or the reasons for conducting them in the first place. Should they be held in order to finally understand the administration's thinking behind their war policies, or are there other methods for discovering and uncovering the massive amount of secrets buried deep within the bowels of various agencies, such as the Dept. of Justice, the CIA, the NSA and most of all within the Pentagon?

Scott Horton, the well known human rights lawyer, believes that democracy itself is at stake.

• "Pursuing the Bush Administration for crimes long known to the public may amount to a kind of hypocrisy, but it is a necessary hypocrisy. The alternative, simply doing nothing, not only ratifies torture; it ratifies the failure of the people to control the actions of their government."

Jack Balkin, the Knight Professor of Constitutional Law at Yale Law School, believes a Truth Commission should be sought in place of war crime trials. He believes this not because he thinks the administration is not guilty of war crimes, but because he thinks the trials themselves face enormous obstacles in light of the twisting of the law done by the Department of Justice. However bad the advice was that came out of Justice, the administration's right to rely on it provides them with a strong defense.

As Professor Balkin noted, the best chances for trials will come from the international community, much like what happened to Pinochet from the Spanish courts.

The answer to your question is yes, the Bush administration should be tried for war crimes. The reality is not that simple and very unlikely to happen in a manner that satisfies everyone.

Source(s):
Justice after Bush: Prosecuting an outlaw administration
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/12/0082303

A Body of Inquiries
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/opinion/11balkin.html?scp=1&sq=jack%2...

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