We're the US, we make the rules

Ok so this is a thread about the hypocritical ways of the US political system.

On the night of December 4th 2004, a US marine by the name of Cristopher Van Goethem, working for the US embassy in Bucharest, disobeyed a traffic signal while in a Ford Expedition, colliding with a taxi. The accident killed Teo Peter, the former drummer of the band Compact, and injuring the driver. The alcohol concentration in Van Goethem's breath was 0.09 and was asked to go to a hospital for blood test (in Romania it is forbidden to drink any quantity of alcohol before driving). The marine staff sergeant refused and fled to Germany that same night to avoid prosecution.

Although the romanian government filed extradition requests to be able to prosecute Van Goethem in Romania, the US government refused stating that they will subject him to Court Martial and prosecute him by the US military laws. After a lengthy trial the Quantico court martial came to a shocking conclusion: all charges of manslaughter were dropped. Another shocking conclusion was that the investigative team concluded that Teo Peter was not in the taxi at the time of the accident.

In 2011 a Wikileaks cable leak had revealed that the US abmasador to Romania promised Van Goethem that, regardless of outcome he will not serve a single day in prison, in Romania.

The Gurdian
Wikipedia

Back to the present day.

A former Ministry of Defence employee was suspected and accused of terrorism, colaboration with Iran and selling of missle hardware to Iran.

The US government asked for the romanian government to extradite Aurel Fratila so that he can be prosecuted in the US for terrorism and conspiracy. The romanian government promptly responded that they will comply with the request.

Source
ABC News
Washington Post
Huffington Post

I am almost sure that the US government threatens countries or governments to make them comply with their requests and decisions.

Note that the US marine is responsible of killing a man with enough proof to convict him and he didn't serve even one day in prison and the romanian ex military is only suspected of terrorism and conspiracy and he is still going ot be extradited to the US to be prosecuted. He will most likely be found guilty with fabricated evidence as easy as they found that Van Goethem was found not guilty and the court martial concluded that Teo Peter was not in the taxi even though his body was found in it.

So in conclusion i want to mention that the US government is hypocritical in its actions on this matter at least, i am sure there are more examples out there.

reply to post by AlexIR


There is only one law in this world:

Money talks.

That's Good, another America Bad and Evil Thread.

Like the United States of America is the only country in the World, All Evil Stems from America!

Come on, give it a rest, You believe only the American Government is the only Government that has, Diplomatic Immunity?
If you do a simple search, you'll find other people from other countries that have Diplomatic Immunity also commit crimes in America and they can not be prosecuted.
By the way, Aurel Fratila, does not have Diplomatic Immunity.
An example of Diplomatic Immunity.

In early 2005, Virginia police closed in on a suspected child predator — a man in his 40s who cops say drove four hours to meet a 13-year-old girl he’d met on the Internet, promising to teach her about sex. It turned out the girl was really a cop, and officers arrested the man at a shopping mall. But then it was the police who got an unpleasant surprise. Their suspect, Salem Al-Mazrooei, was a diplomat from the United Arab Emirates — and therefore covered by “diplomatic immunity.” The cops had to let him go. Days later, Al-Mazrooei left the country, never having spent a night in jail.

The problem is that immunity has come to be used as an absurdly broad cover for sleazy or criminal behavior. As a result, many of the 100,000 foreign diplomats and their dependents in America can break laws, blow off bills, even park where they please — and never pay for it.

www.rd.com...

Find another country to accuse for a while.

reply to post by guohua


I did not bash the US, i bashed their hypocritical logic and does it really matter that Aurel Fratila doesn't have diplomatic immunity?

reply to post by AlexIR


And the minute that Romania takes over as the Policeman of the world and all the Trillions of dollars and thousands of lives that that role costs, they can throw thier weight around. The Marine had diplomatic immunity...the suspected terrorist did not. The Marine got into an accident, the suspected terrorist potentially plotted to kill thousands of innocent folks. America has spent a LOT of blood over half a century so countries including Romania would not be ruled by the USSR et al. Forgive us if we opt to try our own Marine on American soil.

reply to post by Indigo5


Romania was rulled by the USSR up until December 21st 1989 and we lost a lot more people taking down that regime.

And did you at least read the entire post? He didn't even go to prison even though he killed a man who had a family who i am sure were devastated.

Diplomatic immunity doesn't absolve you from murder.

I bet if it were the other way arround you wouldn't have had any problem of writing such a thread because our soldier wouldn't have been able to flee and get away from murder.

reply to post by AlexIR


I am not at all surprised to here about this. It really does happen all the time.

I think the fact that the US Army is currently planning on building a large military base in Romania might have something to do with it.

US bases are huge for the local economy.
Unfortunately the community inevitably becomes reliant on the base for survival. Just ask the local business owners in Okinawa what happens when the Marines are put on lock-down for a week or more.

But as was previously stated, "Money Talks"

reply to post by AlexIR


Do you have any Real Idea at all, what he was trying to sell and to what country?
It was the

Appeals Court in Bucharest that agreed to surrender a Romanian citizen, Aurel Fratila, to the US authorities for selling equipment for planes to Iran, violating an international embargo.

It would appear:

The court also decided on Tuesday that Fratila should be arrested prior to his extradition.

What is this quote from you?

I am almost sure that the US government threatens countries or governments to make them comply with their requests and decisions.

It would also seem that he was under investigation not only by the Great Evil American Government but also:

The Romanian Intelligence Service, SRI, and the Organised Crime and Terrorism Investigation Directorate, DIICOT, have assisted US agencies in the case, which started some years ago.

www.balkaninsight.com...

Originally posted by AlexIR
reply to post by Indigo5

 

Romania was rulled by the USSR up until December 21st 1989 and we lost a lot more people taking down that regime.

Ok...so you are Romanian. that explains the view. Romania lost about 1k people in the 1989 revolution. How many US lives do you think were lost battling the USSR and thier pawns last century? To get countries like Romania to the point where they could take back thier country?

Originally posted by AlexIR
And did you at least read the entire post? He didn't even go to prison even though he killed a man who had a family who i am sure were devastated.

Read the entire post, plus wiki'd the case...no doubt a tragedy...

Originally posted by AlexIR
Diplomatic immunity doesn't absolve you from murder.

Nope...a car accident.

Now as far as your claims that Diplomatic Immunity is a one way street with the USA...Patently false..

Unpaid bills, drunk driving, sex crimes and even slavery...The US has let many, if not all foriegn diplomats return to thier homeland ...
www.rd.com...

And the suspected Romanian terrorist was not a diplomat.

reply to post by guohua


Yes but no evidence is available or was even presented this is just accusations made in the blind by the DIICOT and SRI. He is just suspected and although he has no diplomatic immunity he stil shouldn't be extradited on presumptions.

reply to post by guohua


Lol, I couldn't tell if you did attempt to be sarcastic or are really stating that because a citizen of the United Arab Emirates was given undue lenience by the US government, somehow indicates that the US, the remaining super power buckles under external pressure as any other nation. Another cool example would be the secret charter flights that whisked bin Laden family members and other Saudi nationals out of the United State on 9/11. Poor powerless US government, worst than Switzerland Switzerland ‘sorry’ for Gaddafi son’s arrest (after oil supplies became disrupted and Libyan funds withdrawn from Swiss banks).

reply to post by Indigo5


Doesn't matter if i'm romanian or not.

Try running a red light, hit another car and kill a passenger. What are you accused of? Only the car crash or the car crash and the death of the person.

And the romanian "terrorist" is a retired (reserve) liutenant who worked as a military aviation engineer so he is not just a citizen.

reply to post by AlexIR



I am reminded of the line from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" where Marion cries "...you can't do this, I'm an American".

When I was growing up, a US Army brat, it was drummed into me that we were in a foreign contry, the laws were different and we had to respect the laws. A different time. One high schooler was almost made personna non grata (and should have been) for drunken antics.

We are not 'the boss' of the world (to phase it as a three year-old would).

Originally posted by Panic2k11
reply to post by guohua

 

Lol, I couldn't tell if you did attempt to be cynical or are really stating that because a citizen of the United Arab Emirates was given undue lenience by the US government, somehow indicates that the US also buckles under external pressure. Another cool example would be the secret charter flights that whisked bin Laden family members and other Saudi nationals out of the United State on 9/11. Poor powerless US government...

This is not a 9/11 thread to the best of my knowledge.
But it would appear to be nothing more than a America is the Big Bully and all others are the Victims of the American Government.

Any body with any sense would go ahead and ignore this thread, it's dead to common sense.

This Naturalized American Citizen is throwing up her hands and saying Good Bye, continue your Hate!

Originally posted by Indigo5
reply to post by AlexIR

 

And the minute that Romania takes over as the Policeman of the world and all the Trillions of dollars and thousands of lives that that role costs, they can throw thier weight around. The Marine had diplomatic immunity...the suspected terrorist did not. The Marine got into an accident, the suspected terrorist potentially plotted to kill thousands of innocent folks. America has spent a LOT of blood over half a century so countries including Romania would not be ruled by the USSR et al. Forgive us if we opt to try our own Marine on American soil.

Marines generaly do not have diplomatic immunity - very few embassey staff do.

reply to post by guohua


So anything against the US is nonsense?

I tried to have civilized discussion about this topic and maybe find out new things i didn't know.

Oh and for your information i am not a hater or anything its just not right, killing someone and getting away with it or being suspected and thrown away to be prosecuted by someone else without the posibility of being protected by your own country.

This is common sense.

Oh and i thought the moto of this board was "Deny ignorance" but oh well i feel like this particular forum is something else.