The Trial of Prisoner 043

The plot of The Trial of Prisoner 043 by Terry Jastrow grabbed me from the start. Former President George Bush was on a golf outing at St. Andrews when commandoes kidnapped him off the 17^th green. He was smuggled to The Haig where, in reality, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is located, a court that has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The U.S. is one of few western countries that do not participate in the court, but most of its allies do. The court agreed that they had jurisdiction and agreed to hear the prosecution’s case. Of course, the U.S. and Bush’s lawyers challenged the jurisdiction of the court to try this past President of the U.S. When those legal maneuvers failed, a commando assault on the ICC Detention Centre where Bush was being held was beaten back. Then the case of The Prosecutor v. George W. Bush proceeded. There was no jury and the case was heard in front of a panel of three judges.

Essentially, this book replayed all the evidence for and against the Iraq War. The author was able to use real quotes from all of the principals who were involved in the war effort, as well as those who opposed it. He even included Hans Blix, head of the UN Iraq weapons inspection team, who conducted 731 inspections between 11/02 and 3/03 when the war began. No doubt, this book was very well researched. I’ve actually heard this scenario debated and wished for by my leftist friends while the righties I know seem to automatically dismiss the idea, much like Bush’s attorneys tried to do.

Jastrow created believable figures in the respective teams of attorneys and the panel of judges. Jastrow wrote that his characters understood that the very legitimacy of the court was going to be on trial, along with the attorneys and Bush. As a political junkie, I thought his portrayal of Bush was spot on. The prosecution hammered away at Bush’s allegedly nonsensical pivot from seeking to find and kill bin Laden for 9/11 to pursuing the war in Iraq. Lead prosecuting attorney Michael McBride said, “This is the story of how George Bush is personally responsible for creating the pretext for, and then waging, the Iraq War – and the devastating results of his war.” Certainly, the author does a pretty good job of presenting Bush’s side of the argument.

You get the idea, and I won’t reveal the conclusion. Jastrow has done a remarkable job, and if the topic interests you, this is a must read.