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Legislation like this always makes me a little uneasy.
US President George W. Bush Friday signed into law a bill that will allow the federal government to prosecute individuals in the US suspected of genocide abroad. The Genocide Accountability Act of 2007 modifies Section 1091, Title 18 USC, which had limited genocide prosecution to US nationals or to offenses by non-nationals committed inside the US. The new law will add aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence, stateless persons whose habitual residence is in the US, and alleged offenders “brought into, or found in” the US, even if the alleged genocidal conduct occurred outside the country.
The US really has no business prosecuting non-Americans for crimes committed in other countries. And when you consider the “brought into” language that permits a bounty hunter or other individual to bring the suspected party into the country against their will for prosecution, you really have to wonder what the US is doing. But, genocide is a seriously ugly crime, and who can say “No” to prosecuting genocide? This is the type of bill that no President could veto without getting crushed by the media. So we have it.
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