----- Original Message ----- From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, June 10, 2000 2:09 PM Subject: Re: [STOPNATO] [Eternera] NATO's War Crimes - what say you, MajorKahrs? STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM Colombia? ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ______________________________________________________________________ Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com
STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM Major Kahrs is on holiday. . . . In South America. . . -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Friday, June 09, 2000 2:06 PM Subject: [Eternera] NATO's War Crimes - what say you, Major Kahrs? Eternera Mailing List - http://get.to/eternera http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_doggett/20000609_xcjdo_natos_war_.shtml June 9, 2000 NATO's War Crimes by John Doggett on WorldNetDaily.com Last year I asked "Has NATO Committed War Crimes?" That column upset some people who questioned my patriotism. It upset others because they were afraid of the implications of my being right. Since then, NATO and its PR machine have tried to kill this issue. However, it won't go away. Wednesday, Amnesty International accused NATO of war crimes. NATO violations of the laws of war during Operation Allied Force must be investigated. AI's report is of vital importance because it comes just a week after the U.N. tried to bury this issue once and for all. Thursday, the New York Times reported that "Carla Del Ponte, chief prosecutor for the war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague, told the United Nations Security Council that her investigation had found no basis for charging NATO with war crimes. Mrs. Del Ponte said that although 'some mistakes were made by NATO,' she was 'very satisfied that there was no deliberate targeting of civilians or unlawful military targets.'" Mrs. Del Ponte's failure to find fault with NATO's action is to be expected. She is, after all, an employee of the organization that heartily endorsed NATO's unilateral expansion of its role. AI's report not only refutes Mrs. Del Ponte's assertions, it gives clear and indisputable evidence of NATO's crimes. Amnesty International charges that "NATO forces violated the laws of war leading to cases of unlawful killing of civilians. ..." This is strong stuff. Because we are not talking about a country that is under the thumb of a tinhorn dictator. NATO is the military arm of western nations that claim to have the highest respect for human rights and international law. In their report, Amnesty International examines a number of attacks indicating that NATO did not always meet its legal obligations in selecting targets and in choosing means and methods of attack. "The 23 April 1999 bombing of the headquarters of Serbian state radio and television, which left 16 civilians dead, was a deliberate attack on a civilian object and as such constitutes a war crime," Amnesty International said. "Civilian deaths could have been significantly reduced if NATO forces had fully adhered to the laws of war during Operation Allied Force," the organization added. The laws of war include prohibitions on any direct attacks against civilians or civilian objects, and on attacks which do not attempt to distinguish between military and civilian targets or which, although aimed at a legitimate military target, have a disproportionate impact on civilians or civilian objects. In various attacks, including the Grdelica railroad bridge on April 12, the road bridge in Lunnane on May 1, and Varvarin bridge on May 30, NATO forces failed to suspend their attack after it was evident that they had struck civilians. In other cases, including the attacks on displaced civilians in Djakovica on April 14 and Korica on May 13, sufficient precautions were not taken to minimize civilian casualties. No proper investigation appears to have been conducted by NATO or its member states into these incidents. No measures were taken against anyone responsible except in the case of the attack against the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. "NATO member states must bring to justice any of their nationals suspected of being responsible for serious violations under international humanitarian law," Amnesty International said. "Other states and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia should also investigate allegations of serious violations of international humanitarian law during Operation Allied Force." "The victims of any such violation must receive redress," Amnesty International added. Amnesty International is not the only organization to accuse NATO of war crimes. In February, the New York Times said that Human Rights Watch claimed that of the "500 or so Yugoslav civilians killed in Serbia and Kosovo by NATO bombs, half died because of NATO violations of laws and practices on protecting civilians." Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and John Doggett represent different political viewpoints, but we all agree on one thing. NATO and its leaders should not be immune from the rule of international law. Especially given the political nature of NATO's attacks on Yugoslavia. What NATO did was wrong and illegal. Each time NATO purposefully targeted innocent civilians and killed them, NATO committed a war crime. I can think of no more powerful way to drive this point home than to quote the New York Times: "Amnesty International was scathing about the bombing of the television station, which went off the air only briefly. 'NATO deliberately attacked a civilian object, killing 16 civilians, for the purpose of disrupting Serb television broadcasts in the middle of the night for approximately three hours.'" We all know what happened when NATO bombs killed three Chinese journalists. When will we apply the same rules of conduct to those who purposefully targeted a civilian TV station and killed 16 civilians? -- John Doggett is a business school professor, management consultant and lawyer who lives in Austin, Texas. In 1998, Talkers Magazine selected John as one of the 100 Most Influential Radio Talk Show Hosts in America . In 1997, Headway Magazine selected John as one of the 20 Most Influential Black Conservatives in America. -- 2000 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. -- Direct corrections and technical inquiries to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please direct news submissions to [EMAIL PROTECTED] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Support Antiwar.com http://Antiwar.com and also the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space http://www.globenet.free-online.co.uk. +Make nonviolent peace. Speak truth to power. Pray for one another. Be merciful. Love your enemies. Forgive those who've hurt you. Come Lord Jesus Christ. Deo Gratias.+ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ______________________________________________________________________ Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ______________________________________________________________________ Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com
