Somewhere in the Middle: The Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials as a Model for Power Trials in Iraq

Research into methods for defeat of an ideology suggest that three areas must be considered when attacking an ideology-legitimacy, reeducation, and economy. But the deeper problem of fear must be addressed before they can be addressed. Reduction of fear in a nation requires a return of the rule of law, the defining event of which is the creation and implementation of a judicial system to try war criminals. Do postwar Germany and Japan provide lessons in the creation and implementation of a judicial system to try war criminals of the former Iraqi regime? This book concludes that Post World War II trials provide a valid historical reference for the creation of a court for war criminals in Iraq. Differences in the creation and conduct of the two trials give insight into lessons that must be inculcated into a modern trial. Additionally, they have become instilled in the judiciary of the United Nations with the Nuremberg trials becoming the model upon which international law was codified.