"It is much too early to appraise the influence of Nuremberg. But I would disclaim any expectation that it alone is enough to prevent future wars. When stakes are high enough and chances of success look good enough, I suppose reckless leaders may again plunge their people into war, just as men still resort to murder, notwithstanding the law’s penalty. But I do think that we have forever laid to rest in the minds of statesmen the vicious assumptions that all war must be regarded as legal and just, and that while the law imposes personal responsibility for starting a street riot, it imposes none for inciting and launching a world war."
Nuremberg In Retrospect: Legal Answer To International Lawlessness
By Robert H. Jackson
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Article originally appeared at 35 ABAJ 813 (1949).
So Ken Clarke, enduring Conservative politician of decades, was mysteriously absent during all critical votes regarding the invasion of Iraq 2003, but he now is keen on using the penal system to teach people a lesson about riots.
Talk about a slow learner.
