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Bolton accused of war crimes in Iraq

John Bolton

LONDON: The former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, and one of the most controversial figures in the Bush administration in the run-up to the Iraq invasion, was accused of war crimes and booed when he appeared at a British literary event on Wednesday.

A leading rights activist attempted to make a “citizen’s arrest” of Mr. Bolton, but the latter was escorted out of the venue. The incident happened when, speaking at The Guardian Hay Festival in Wales, Mr. Bolton justified the invasion and made threatening noises over Iran, claiming that the U.S. has the right to attack Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. As Mr. Bolton wound up his lecture, he was heckled by a section of the audience. George Monbiot, a rights and environmental campaigner, reportedly rushed towards him with a “chargesheet,” accusing him of being a “war criminal.”

A group of anti-war activists waved placards and shouted “war criminal” as security personnel escorted Mr. Bolton out. “I’m disappointed I couldn’t reach him, but I made what I believe to be the first attempt ever to arrest one of the perpetrators of the Iraq War,” Mr. Monbiot later told The Guardian.

In a report, the newspaper said: “When challenged by Monbiot during the debate to say why — in planning, preparing and waging war against Saddam Hussein — he was any different from Nazi war criminals condemned at Nuremberg, Bolton cited Iraq’s defiance of the U.N. resolutions 687 and 678, which underpinned the 1991 Iraq War and ceasefire. That released other parties from the obligation to the ceasefire, he told Monbiot.” Mr. Bolton refused to answer questions about the legality of the Iraq invasion.

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