I believe Judge Garzon's warrant against Augusto Pinochet was accepted as valid in the UK. This would mean all of the "Bush 6" risk arrest in every EU member's territorial jurisdiction for this warrant.

Set this precedent, Annie, and I guarantee that the ne*t time the Repulicans come into power, it will be time for revenge. This is not a cycle it would be wise to start, and I think Obama is probably smart enough to realise that and forgoe the satisfaction.

There is no surer way to have Americans become suspicious of international actors than to have a non-American judge, operating in a non-American political system issuing warrants beyond their borders. There is also an enormous hypocrisy here, seeing as how Morocco is just across the water, has a poor reputation for treating political prisoners, and yet has never been the object of Judge Real's gavel. And that is because such an action would actually impinge on Spanish foreign policy. OTOH, the Spanish gov't is reasonably certain that an American gov't will not enact any diplomatic penalties in this case. Spain is behaving like a teenager - believing that its notions of right and wrong should be enforced - just don't ask for them to pick up a weapon and offer men for an international police force.

I disagree that it is up to President Obama to pursue criminal charges against his predecessor's administration. Decisions to prosecute should not be political at all. It is up to the DOJ, its career prosecutors, and their grand juries to determine whether crimes were committed and to prosecute where appropriate. My hope is that such investigations are proceeding, in secrecy, but that Obama and his politically appointed Eric Holder, will stay out of it.

they encouraged criminal behavior. if this is a nation of laws they must be tried here!!!

In both the Pinochet case and in this case, Spanish courts have only moved where Spanish citizens were the alleged victims. This is a much more restricted level of extra-territorial action than claimed by United State courts. The case of the NatWest bankers who were charged in the United State with defrauding their employer on the basis of a tenuous link to Enron springs to mind. Both alleged perpetrators and victims were UK entities and the "victim" had and has never made any complaint.