First al-Bashir, Next .......... Bush?

While there is little chance Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president, will ever be brought to trial following his indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the charges brought against him nevertheless offer hope for anyone concerned about human rights around the world.

For Americans, however, the ICC indictment should offer a moment of sombre reflection not merely for our relative inaction with regard to years of mass murder in Sudan.

It is equally disturbing that much of the al-Bashir indictment could just as easily be applied to George Bush, the US president.

Here is part of what the indictment says:

"Bashir was directly responsible [for the activities of the militias]. He is the president. He is the commander-in-chief. Those are not just formal words. He used the whole state apparatus. He used the army; he enrolled the militia/Janjaweed. They all report to him. They all obey him. His control is absolute."

In such context, Bush is also directly responsible for the horrific disaster in Iraq.

Bush's imperial presidency, with its "Unitary Executive" and arrogation of the right to declare war from the constitutionally-appointed Congress, has similarly "used the whole state apparatus" to wage the Iraq war. He "enrolled" our soldiers and his military commanders who "all report to him".

For Bush, like al-Bashir, "they all obey him. His control is absolute".