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Henry
George School
of Social Science
of Los Angeles
Box 655
Tujunga CA
91042
818 352-4141
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From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Keith Hudson
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 6:55
AM
To: Lawrence deBivort
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [Futurework] War
Criminals posing as World Leaders &Bob Geldof'sMusical Apartheid
Lawry,
For a list of international crimes from the top of your head, yours is not bad
going!
I don't in any way want to dismiss the gravity of the charges you've made. All
these will no doubt appear in the history books -- and, hopefully, not before
too long after Bush is impeached or retires in disgrace.
But at the end of the day what counts are not legal charges. What counts is
whether the aggression succeeds and whether intelligent people have been
directing it. From the second day of the occupation of Baghdad when the shops started to be looted,
the whole American rationale of the invasion was in danger. And so it has
continued ever since. With the possible exception of Chechnya,
the invasion of Iraq
has been the most farcical and destructive occupation of modern times.
Yesterday, ex-prime minister Allawi warned that a civil war might ensue very
shortly -- and the deadline for a consitution is fast approaching. As far as I
know there is no exact definition of a civil war, and precisely when one
starts. These days, since the break-up of Yugoslavia, civil wars don't have
to be stand-up battles a la the English or American Civil Wars. They involve a
multitude of skirmishes, of mass murders and of ethnic movements. All those are
going in Iraq
now -- as well as many new twists such as suicide bombings and kidnappings. I
would suggest that a civil war between the Sunnis and the Shias started quite a
long time ago -- something like February 2004 will be selected by the
historians -- and, as civil wars are wont to do, gaining strength from then
onwards.
Keith
At 06:39 12/07/2005 -0400, you wrote:
Harry, you ask if I understand you correctly, for a list of
US/"Coalition"
war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Here is a partial list, off the top of
my head. Please keep in mind that war crimes can be committed, but that
the
legal mechanisms for pursuing those responsible have then to confirm the
commission of the crimes.
Crimes pertaining to the Law of War (Belligerence)
1. Failure to provide a declaration of war with legitimate casus belli
2. War was "aggressive", and not "defensive"
3. Good faith negotiations were rejected prior to commencement of war
4. War targeted heads of state
5. War used force disproportional to purported casus belli
6. War turned into occupation
7. Civilian population was targeted
8. Countries have been blockaded and their trade and freedom of access have
been interfered with in the absence of a Declaration of War, or the
commencement of hostilities
Crimes pertaining to the Geneva Accords
9. Occupation has harmed (killing, maiming, displacement) the civilian
population
10. Occupation has harmed the economic structure
11. Occupation has impeded the social, cultural lives of the civilian
population
12. Civilians have been subject to warrant-less detention, and have not been
afforded proper hearings
13. Military and civilians have been subject to torture, humiliation and
inhumane conditions
14. Military and civilian prisoners were denied visits by the International
Red Cross.
15. Military and civilian prisoners were denied contact with families and
representatives
16. Military and civilian prisoners were denied visits and representation by
their governments of citizenship
Crimes pertaining to the Law of the Sea
17. Shipping of non-belligerent countries have been forcibly stopped and
searched, and some turned away from their courses.
18. Crew have been removed from their ships
19. Non-belligerent vessels have been attacked and sunk
Well, as I say, this is all from memory and what comes to mind right off.
>From several of these general charges, multiple related legal charges would
be distinguished, as, for example, the Geneva Convention spells things out
in considerable detail with multiple laws.
The law can be found in any law textbook on international law at any
university law library or law firm, or on the web (probably), and the Geneva
Conventions can be found on the UN website.
Cheers,
Lawry
