Back in late 2006, it was widely reported in the Latin American media that President Bush, or perhaps his old man, had bought a 100,000-acre farm in a remote area of Paraguay.
What struck people at the time was the choice of country. Paraguay, of course, has gained a certain Club Med status among the world's villains and criminal elements as the place to go when the law's on your tail. The country, ruled for six decades by the dictatorial and fascist Colorado Party of Gen. Alfredo Stroesser, an almost cartoon charicature of a Latin American dictator, has no extradition treaty with any nation.
That's why it has long harbored aging Nazis, bank robbers, and a string of ousted or retired Latin American dictators and their assistants over the years.
Given that President Bush, once he leaves office on January 20, 2009, will no longer have the diplomatic immunity conferred upon heads of state, or the Constitutional protection against indictment by domestic prosecutors, it makes sense that he would be looking for a safe haven from the long arm of the law.
After all, they guy is guilty of a huge laundry list of
international crimes, from the Crime Against Peace and Conspiracy
against Peace in the UN Charter, to Geneva Convention violations like
approval of torture of prisoners, collective punishment of civilians,
the killing of children and child soldiers, the failure to protect
occupied citizens, the use of banned weapons, etc., etc., and also of
domestic crimes, ranging from political use of government employees,
conspiracy, treason, lying to federal officials, defrauding Congress,
etc.
No wonder he wants to do what Klaus Barbie, Josef Mengele and Adolf Eichmann did, and hole up in Paraguay.
Only trouble is, Paraguay may not be such a safe haven for long.
Last
month, a former Roman Catholic Bishop with leftist, populist
tendencies, Fernando Lugo, surprised almost everyone in Paraguay, and
no doubt President Bush, by winning the national presidential election,
ousting the Colorado Party for the first time in 61 years. There is
talk that among other things, Lugo is thinking of returning Paraguay to
the community of nations, by signing some of those extradition
agreements.
If he does that Bush may be stuck having to hide
behind his rump squad of Secret Service agents down at the Crawford
Ranch, hoping they can keep the process servers from Brattleboro and
Marlboro, VT, with their war crimes arrest warrants, at bay.
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