In Germany, the prosecutors reviewing charges against Rumsfeld and others for crimes against humanity have interpreted their statutes as applying only to German citizens. In the US, the Defence Secretary's foes have dispersed inspite of the damning evidence contained in the recent Human Rights Watch Report. The Turkish Press reports:

BERLIN, Jan 27 (AFP) - German justice authorities will not be taking legal action against US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq, a newspaper reported here on Thursday.

The daily Tagesspiegel, in advance extract of its Friday edition, said that federal prosecutor Kay Nehm would not seek to try Rumsfeld because no Germans were victims of the US troop offences at the notorious prison near Baghdad.

The paper said that under the law, Nehm could only take action if Germans were suspected of committing crimes or of being the victims of crimes.

HUman Rights watch replied:

"...the investigators lacked the mandate -- or the independence -- to draw the obvious conclusions regarding the political or legal responsibility of Rumsfeld or others who approved illegal tactics," the group said last week."

And a final tidbit from The National Ledger indicates how money has defused opposition to Rummy from his own party:

Any chance for real bipartisan pressure to force out Donald Rumsfeld as secretary of defense vanished when Sen. Richard Lugar, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that a change could be "disruptive."

Earlier, Chairman John Warner of the Armed Services Committee took the same position. Support from chairmen of the Senate's two national security committees outweighs senatorial calls for Rumsfeld's departure. Their backing is particularly important because both Lugar and Warner in private have expressed irritation with Rumsfeld's style.

A footnote: At last Saturday's annual dinner of The Alfalfa Club, Lugar probably ended all speculation about whether he will run for re-election in Indiana next year. His guest at the dinner was Cincinnati investment banker Mercer Reynolds, President Bush's chief fund-raiser who is raising money to elect Lugar to a sixth term.

DOGSPOT