Sunday, April 20, 2014

Editorial: Are you comfortable with War Crimes?

National Iraqi News Agency reports today, "Artillery bombardment renewed on Sunday evening on most of neighborhoods of the city of Fallujah."


Do you know what a War Crime is?

NINA reports, "A civilian was killed and four others injured on Sunday 20, April due to indiscriminate shelling on the neighborhoods of the city of Fallujah."


Targeting civilians?

That's a War Crime.

If this is confusing to you, Gene Dannen has compiled "International Law on the Bombing of Civilians:"


The full texts of many of these treaties, and others, are available on the Tufts University Rules of Warfare; Arms Control page.

* Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague II) July 29, 1899
* Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV) October 18, 1907
* Draft Rules of Aerial Warfare, The Hague, February 1923
* Protection of Civilian Populations Against Bombing from the Air in Case of War, League of Nations, September 30, 1938
* Appeal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, September 1, 1939
* Nuremberg Principles, August 8, 1945
* Geneva Convention IV, August 12, 1949
* Resolution on Nuclear Weapons, United Nations, November 24, 1961
* Resolution on Human Rights, United Nations, December 19, 1968
* On the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, International Court of Justice, July 8, 1996
* Sources and further reading



Not only are these War Crimes carried out by the US-installed and maintained chief thug and prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, they're being carried out with weapons the US government supplies Nouri with and with 'intel'

The US government is complicit in War Crimes and the press wants to look the other way.




Ann raised the issue during Gwen Ifill's NewsHour 'chat' last week.


12:34
Comment From Ann  
Good afternoon, Gwen. I'm bothered by the attack on Anbar Province in Iraq and the lack of western media coverage. Specifically, Nouri al-Maliki has been bombing the residential neighborhoods of Falluja every day since the start of the year. This is collective punishment and it is leaving many dead -- including many children. But we see nothing on the news about this in the US. Since we are the ones arming Maliki, this seems like a serious news issue in need of coverage to me. What does it take to get Iraq covered on The Newshour? Thank you.
12:34
Gwen Ifill: 
I have to say, if you're going to see coverage of the ongoing situation in Iraq anywhere, it will be on the NewsHour.



And that's about as much as the US press can offer as an 'answer' or even as 'coverage.'


Saturday,  NINA reported 1 person died and three more were injured in one bombing of Falluja's residential neighborhoods and  3 civilians were killed and eight left injured in a second shelling.  Fu Peng (Xinhua) reports, "In Anbar province, at least four people were killed and 15 wounded at dawn when Iraqi army pounded the town of Garma near the militant-seized city of Fallujah, some 50 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a provincial police source said." 


Every day the death toll and the number injured mounts from these War Crimes.

At what point do they get called out?

At what point do Americans get outraged and demand that the US government stop aiding Nouri and stop pretending War Crimes aren't taking place -- stop pretending they aren't taking place and that they aren't being carried out with the help of the US government?


Every day, people are killed and wounded from Nouri's bombings of Falluja, civilians.  Often, as on February 28th, children.



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And the US government is okay with that.

Are Americans?

Have we really sunk that low that we can ignore these War Crimes?


For an incomplete list of some of Nouri's bombings which have left civilians dead and wounded, check out the April 16th "Iraq snapshot."





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