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October 13, 2007 at 16:52:03
Many Americans Don't Realize Iraq War Is Illegal by Sherwood Ross Page 1 of 2 page(s) |
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Mistakenly, many Americans still believe President Bush's war on Iraq is justified because Congress supported it and funds it. Yet, as international legal authority Francis Boyle of the University of Illinois points out, President Bush got congressional backing by lying that Hussein had W.M.D. and that Hussein was connected to 9/11. That's fraud, probably the bloodiest, costliest lie in White House history. Also, to start a war, a country needs UN Security Council approval, which Bush failed to get. Otherwise, a nation can fight only in self-defense when attacked. 
By attacking Iraq, Bush violated the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, the Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact of 1928, the UN Charter, the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunals, and the Nuremberg Charter, Judgment and Principles, Boyle said.
As all treaties become the supreme law of the land under Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, the Bush-Cheney presidency is guilty of breaking all of the above, warmongering in spades.
In testimony defending U.S. soldiers who have refused to fight in Iraq, Boyle noted that, under Nuremberg, "a soldier has a right to absent himself or herself from committing international crimes."
In short, if given a criminal order, the defense used by Adolf Eichmann, Hitler's master killer, that he was only doing his job, is a phony.
Boyle testified that First Lt. Ehren Watada had the right, "if not the obligation," to say, "I don't want to participate in this." Watada faced an army court martial for not deploying with his unit for Iraq. Watada won a victory when the judge ruled a mistrial.
Boyle believes, "A soldier has an obligation to disobey illegal orders," which he says is printed in black-and-white in the Army's Field Manual(AFM) 27-10. Without Security Council authority, President Bush's war is "a crime against peace," Boyle says.
That's also written in paragraph 498 of the AFM. "Any person, whether a member of the armed forces or a civilian, who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible therefore and liable to punishment (as)...crimes against peace," the AFM reads.
This broad definition would seem to include trigger-happy private contractors in Iraq.And since the U.S. has committed war crimes in Iraq, U.S. soldiers are legally within their rights not to serve there, Boyle said.
These crimes include torture of prisoners, authorized by former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and White House lawyers; the use of cluster bombs in civilian areas; and the firing of depleted uranium shells--- this last also a violation of the Geneva Protocol of 1925. "It's a war crime," Boyle said, that is "not only poisoning Iraqis, it is poisoning our own troops."
President Bush has repeatedly said the U.S. does not torture, but he is no objective arbiter in this matter. The International Committee of the Red Cross, with supervisory jurisdiction, says it is torture and that it is widespread and systematic.
Thus Bush and his colleagues are guilty of crimes against humanity. Curiously, the public reaction to these crimes includes a large measure of denial.
If Congress okayed the war and funds it, many people think it's okay. Besides, much of the bloodshed is concealed from their view. Fox TV, for example, runs little film footage of the real carnage in Iraq while reporting endless trivia and gossip. Fox is also continuing its show "24" over Army protests that the series encourages U.S. troops to torture.
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Straight talk... truth to power
This article lays out plainly that the current administration, and Congress too, are engaged in a conspiracy to undermine the Constitution and thereby overthrow the legitimate government of the United States. All of those in that conspiracy do not agree on why they are in that conspiracy, but they all are ignoring their oaths of office for whatever illegitimate reasons they have invented for themselves. That is why none of the current candidates for President are fit to serve in that capacity. None of them are calling the war a crime or the instigators, criminals. And none are calling for the criminals to be brought to justice. You can't fix this by replacing one set of traitors with another less vicious set of traitors. The only way to restore the Constitution is to find and put honorable guardians of the public trust in office in place of those who are now there. by Mark A. Goldman (81 articles, 2 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 243 comments) on Saturday, Oct 13, 2007 at 7:51:23 PM  (0+)
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Reply: Wanted: Honorable Guardians of Public Trust
Well put Mr. Goldman. And where exactly will we find these guardians of public trust is anyones guess? With the exception of a few, this current list of (corporately owned) candidates running for the highest office in the land must have some inclination as to what is happening to this once great country of ours? They have to, they're not stupid! They see America crying out for a change of course, but instead turn a blind eye. These faux candidates are indeed no different than this rogue Bush-Cheney cabal. They'll do as they're told. That's even if there are elections? Absent an event which would require this impervious administration to initiate martial law and the cancellation of any future elections? Who knows what could happen! This nefarious administration has turned America into a rudderless ship in a sea of despair. From illegal war and exhausting America's military, to record deficits and continued utter distain for the Constitution. We've already crossed the Rubicon, it is now a matter of whether this mendacious maniac steers us further into the abyss. by Munich (1 articles, 86 quicklinks, 14 diaries, 1125 comments [86 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Saturday, Oct 13, 2007 at 11:02:26 PM (0+)
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Reply: Where are they?
There are many people who would be the kind of president we need. Ralph Nader comes to mind but he's not the only one. Most of are probably not public figures right now. The point is that we are not looking for them and when they come forward we don't give them a chance because they are not famous and so we don't see them as electible. If we--each of us--is unwilling to be an honorable guardian of the public trust to the best of our own ability, then perhaps we'll end up exactly where we are headed. Everyone is not suited to serve in the House or the Senate or the White House. But supposedly, WE are the government. Those who fill government offices work for us. If we are not willing to be responsible citizens--find a way to hire the best talent we can find and fire those who disappoint us--then we can hardly expect things to get better. We have learned to be short sighted. We look at each next election like CEOs look at the next quarter. We go for the short term win rather than a long term strategy that would be sustainable. Each of us needs to find the courage within to vote for what we believe in even if it won't win elections until voting for what we believe in does win elections. There are plenty of good strategies... but they all take personal responsibility and in this environment, at least some wisdom and foresight. I have written a lot about this and other things that matter... http://www.gpln.com/timesawasting.htm by Mark A. Goldman (81 articles, 2 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 243 comments) on Sunday, Oct 14, 2007 at 12:12:12 PM (0+)
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Gee, what a surprise
"Mistakenly, many Americans still believe President Bush's war on Iraq is justified because Congress supported it and funds it." This should shock no one. If you believe you are the center of the universe -- maybe even the whole universe -- chances are the term "international law" won't mean a thing to you. A nation that calls its non-citizens "aliens" is likely to think that maybe international law is some conspiracy of Martians -- or maybe Klingons. This is not the fault of ordinary individual Americans. It's merely a consequence of imperialism and the kind of propaganda required to get the populace to support it. FoxNews and Rush Limbaugh may be a bit excessive but they're certainly not original. America has had propaganda vehicles like these since at least the end of WWII. by delia (0 articles, 1 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 112 comments) on Sunday, Oct 14, 2007 at 2:24:44 AM (0+)
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Ignorance
Many Americans don't realize that "Operation Just Cause" / the invasion of Panama was illegal, are not in the least bit aware of the US track record of military actions at home and abroad from 1776 up to today which by the way and on the bye can be reviewed and absorbed in Ward Churchill's "on the JUSTICE of ROOSTING CHICKENS". But this is not about Ward, so don't go down that road. It's about WARS-R-US and how the majority of US are ignorant to this/these fact(s). "We go to war but grudgingly and then only when compelled by the requirements of restoring the peace, justice, and good order, for we among all the peoples of the world comprise the most peace-loving of nations." - Woodrow Wilson, 1917 Excerpt from Ward's aforementioned book, the chapter titled That "Most Peace-Loving of Nations - A Record of U.S. Military Actions at Home and Abroad. 1776-2003" ; "One of the paramount difficulties in achieving constructive change in the U.S. is, and has been, the country's patently false image of itself. A particularly bizarre aspect of the "American exceptionalism" by which the collective self-concept has been defined is what analyst Stuart Creighton Miller has termed "radical innocence". Put most simply, this is the notion that the U.S. is the "most peace-loving of nations," its populace--especially those of European descent--composed of essentially "peace-lving citizens" who go to war only when aggressive irrationalities of other countries or peoples have left them "no choice," and then in a uniquely altruistic and humane fashion. The manner in which such mythology has both been packaged and embraced is as circular as it is self-congratulatory: a small range of "lapses," "excesses" and other such "aberrations" or "anomalies" is first nobly acknowledged, this "honest admission" of "regrettable exceptions" then advanced to "prove the rule" of America's exceptionally innocent nature. Thus, if not exactly perfect, it is concluded, both the U.S. record and the outlooks attending it must be seen as adding up to the best that is humany attainable. Since improvement is impossible, there is no point in attempting it." Get my point ? Keep your eyes on the Carrots! by Tony Forest (7 articles, 18 quicklinks, 166 diaries, 1429 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Oct 14, 2007 at 4:38:47 AM (0+)
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Wars R Us
Thanks for the feedback, all very sensible. The myth is that America was founded by Pilgrim dissidents who shared their Thanksgiving with the friendly "Indians." The myth leaves out the arrival on our soil of Europeans who were avaricious, criminal, greedy, aggressive land-grabbers who saw opportunities for plunder and self-aggrandizement as well as for a refuge from the orthodoxies of the old world. Our sons and daughters are dying because of our self-deceit, because there is truth in the old poem that we do not see ourselves as others see us. Sherwood by Sherwood Ross (222 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 155 comments [4 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Oct 14, 2007 at 8:41:10 AM (0+)
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Right you are, Sherwood
how right you are. And what a super neato name ! Nice to you're real. Ya never know 'round here. curt by Tony Forest (7 articles, 18 quicklinks, 166 diaries, 1429 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Oct 14, 2007 at 10:35:51 AM (0+)
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This is nothing new
I addressed this exact point back in December of 2006 when I wrote this column, By the very definition of a resolution, Bush is not a ‘Wartime’ president Please feel free to pass it on. In discussing this with people one may meet, their eyes glaze over with disbelief. That is how good a job the media did at selling this war to the masses. Best,Mary! by Mary MacElveen (371 articles, 0 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 52 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Oct 14, 2007 at 10:24:47 PM (0+)
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