Mr. Rumsfeld's Green Zone

I have no choice but to dismiss you. It breaks my heart, but I can't expose my guests to your firearms. It may be wrong of them, but they value their lives

--The Rules of the Game, Jean Renoir

You have to learn the Rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.

--Albert Einstein

Pickering: Have you no morals, man?
Doolittle: Can't afford them, Governor

--Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw

So, a safe zone has been constructed around Mr. Rumsfeld. The presiding judge dismissed the civil lawsuit charging him with torture, as "Rumsfeld cannot be held personally responsible for actions taken in connection with his government job" ("Judge Dismisses Lawsuit against Rumsfeld.") In calling the case "lamentable," one wonders if it is the content, the context, or the lack of precedent involved in the dismissal which the judge found to be so.

Why is this a civil lawsuit and not a criminal offense brought to justice under the criminal justice system?

Using the judge's guidelines, then Adolf Eichmann would be equally protected because he was simply executing his governmental tasks. The similarities are striking.

Both worked for a government that permitted them to kidnap, torture and incarcerate members of countries and races different from their own. And both claimed that the persons so treated were not covered by the law of humane treatment of all persons, whether foreign or domestic.

Additionally, Judge Hogan said "foreigners held overseas are not normally afforded constitutional rights. " It is strange that the U.S. claims it wants to export democracy, yet forgets to pack the Constitution when it goes voyaging.