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Crooks, Criminals, and the Pursuit of Justice

© Carey Goodman

On 13 February 2002 two important events occurred. One event was the trial of former Yugoslav dictator Slobodan Milosevic at the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague. The other event was the arraignment of John Walker Lindh, the American who was captured while fighting with the Taleban in Afghanistan. In the case of Mr. Milosevic, the defendant offered nothing more substantive than a rambling diatribe in the guise of an inquiry into the legitimacy of the tribunal and its applicable jurisdiction and the possibility that his arrest was not lawfully conducted. These are issues on which the tribunal has already rendered decisions which ruled solidly against Mr. Milosevic. In the case of John Walker Lindh, a plea of not guilty was entered to the US Federal Court in the state of Virginia.

Based on the externalities involved and the transcripts and other information that is available for public consumption, both men seem astoundingly guilty. The troubling aspect of the Milosevic case is that although he may not have signed the orders to commit every act of attrocity, he was the head of state, and he could have ended the havoc that was wrought if he had wanted to end it. The fact that he was no longer in power at the time of his arrest and that he was extradited to stand trial before a tribunal in a different country makes his situation seem quite similar to the arrest and detention of former Chilean dictator Augusto Penochet. The vital distinction is that Mr. Milosevic was arrested in his home country; Mr. Penochet was not. One may wonder what might have happened if Mr. Penochet had been in good health and twenty or thirty years younger.

The situation is much more complex judicially for John Walker Lindh. The evidence against him consists of some e-mails he sent to his mother, a video that aired on US television networks, and the fact that he was captured during a prison revolt led by Al-Qaeda fighters. Within the bounds of the law, that may not be sufficient evidence to convict him of the most serious charges made against him. The people who could probably do his case the most harm are likely in confinement at Guantanimo, Cuba. To seal its case against Mr. Lindh, the US should find some witnesses who will testify that: "Yes, I was at that Al-Qaeda training camp with Mr. Lindh. I remember him quite well because he was the only American there. He did plot against the US, and he praised as a success the Al-Qaeda attacks of 11 September".

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