They tried Eichmann, didn't they?

[North Shore]

And most of the rest of them at Nuremberg..

I'm not that sad to see the back end of Osama, or of Gaddafi, but I find it vaguely disconcerting that they weren't apprehended, tried, and so on. Aren't we supposed to be the good guys, concerned with justice, the rule of law, human rights etc..?

I wonder if Assad is beginning to tremble in his boots?

[grimey]

Who do we have try him, though? Everyone has a vested interest in one outcome or another if it went to trial. The west wants him gone in order to gain better control over their oil reserves than China would get, China wants him to stay, local Libyans either want him in power, in order to maintain power, or dead.

In any case, they still had many of the Nazis hung, and we all saw Saddam's wonderfully civilized execution (as istp put it, it was less about justice, and more about getting it over with before the Sunnis got there). In the words of that great philosopher, Archie Bunker, "would it make you feel any better, little girl, if they was pushed outta windows?" I doubt that Assad is significantly more afraid of getting lynched by a mob than being hung following a trial.

I'd prefer the see an impartial trial, but I doubt it's a realistic option in most cases.

[iflyforpie]

But what is a trial anyways? There was no doubt of the outcome, so why bother with due process?

It is worthy to note that in WWII, they wanted to try Admiral Karl Donitz (the head of the Kreigsmarine and the last leader of Nazi Germany) for his role in instituting Unrestricted Submarine Warfare in the Battle of the Atlantic...... until it was realized that the US Navy not only practiced it against Japan, but was much more effective than the Nazis in doing so. The charges were conveniently dropped.

[niss]

Why go forth with the trial if it was beyond doubt?

Look up Herman gorings brother. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Göring

[Beefitarian]

What did the forum do to your link niss? It went to a page complaining they don't have a page for Albert G.

[YYZSaabGuy]

What did the forum do to your link niss? It went to a page complaining they don't have a page for Albert G.

The correct spelling is actually Göring, at least according to Wikipedia. If you enter Goering as the search term, it should take you to Niss's referenced page.

[North Shore]

But what is a trial anyways? There was no doubt of the outcome, so why bother with due process?

Ummm, 'cause there's a presumption of innocence until it's proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law that there isn't?

[iflyforpie]

But what is a trial anyways? There was no doubt of the outcome, so why bother with due process?

Ummm, 'cause there's a presumption of innocence until it's proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law that there isn't?

Sorry, I forgot my sarcasm BBC code in that sentence.

[JakeYYZ]

And most of the rest of them at Nuremberg..

I'm not that sad to see the back end of Osama, or of Gaddafi, but I find it vaguely disconcerting that they weren't apprehended, tried, and so on. Aren't we supposed to be the good guys, concerned with justice, the rule of law, human rights etc..?

I wonder if Assad is beginning to tremble in his boots?

It is because Colonel Gaddafi was not a popular guy. Just like popular President Obama can have American citizens assassinated (Anwar al-Awlaki), whereas unpopular President Bush cannot even have non-citizens tortured to save the lives of other citizens. The citizen assassinated, was not a popular guy, so the establishment can ignore that due process stuff. An understanding of this popularity thing is important.