War Crimes Report Shows US Violations of International Law

[Jcrowley]

War Crimes Committed by the United States in Iraq and Mechanisms for Accountability

This report was prepared by Consumers for Peace.org with the advice of Karen Parker, noted lawyer in human rights and humanitarian law.  Ms. Parker is President of the San Francisco-based Association of Humanitarian Lawyers (www.humanlaw.org) and Chief Delegate to the United Nations for the Los Angeles-based International Educational Development/Humanitarian Law Project (IED/AHL), an accredited non-governmental organization on the U.N. Secretary-General’s list.

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http://www.consumersforpeace.org/news_war_crimes_iraq_accountability.html

War Crimes Report Shows US Violations of International Law

Demands Prosecution of US Military and Civilian Leaders

The violence of the Iraq War, the chaos that has come to Iraq, can be traced directly to the illegality of the invasion and occupation of that country and the illegality of the tactics and weapons being used to maintain the occupation. U.S. War Crimes in Iraq and Mechanisms for Accountability documents these violations and calls on us all to demand investigation and prosecution of violations of international law by military and civilian leaders.

10/10/06 "Information Clearing House" -- -- Click here to read the report in full

The report was prepared by Consumers for Peace.org with the advice of Karen Parker, noted lawyer in human rights and humanitarian law. Ms. Parker is President of the San-Francisco-based Association of Humanitarian Lawyers (www.humanlaw.org) and Chief Delegate to the United Nations for the Los Angeles-based International Educational Development/Humanitarian Law Project (IED/AHL), an accredited non-governmental organization on the U.N. Secretary-General?s list.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15261.htm

[Jcrowley]

1. An Excerpt

1. Introduction The opening of the U.S./British invasion campaign against Iraq in March 20031 was one ofintense aerial bombardment designed to create “shock and awe” among Iraqis. The goal was to terrorize the Iraqi people and intimidate the Iraq military. For the U.S. public, watching throughtheir television screens, the opening of the war was little different than a video game. Military briefings illustrated the effectiveness of “precision bombs”. Later, as the land campaign gotunderway, military and media reports showed U.S. forces quickly moving north into central Iraq and meeting less resistance than had been anticipated.

From the outside, the war seemed quick and contained. However, even at this stage multiplebreaches of international humanitarian law occurred. The precision bombs touted by the military often were not. Hundreds of civilians were killed, and massive amounts of civilian property weredestroyed. Cluster bombs were dropped on urban areas, including residential neighborhoods. Munitions containing depleted uranium were used in bombs and artillery shells. Tanks fired intohotels and residential areas. The basic infrastructure of Iraq’s urban areas was, in many cases, destroyed or disrupted by the invading forces.

Less well known is how the subsequent U.S./British policies and military actions in Iraq,stretching from months into years, have included regular and serious breaches of international law. This paper describes the multiple and overlapping breaches of international humanitarian lawthat have occurred during the U.S./British occupation of Iraq since 2003. Those infringements have occurred at many levels, from senior members of the Bush administration, to senior militaryleaders, to individual unit commanders, and to individual troops.

In responding to some of the most egregious violations of humanitarian law, the U.S.administration and military authorities have focused on those who are sometimes termed “a few bad apples.” This paper argues, however, that the choices made at more senior levels than theranks of individual soldiers have created the context in which regular abuses of civilians in occupied Iraq are occurring. It is argued that: the failure to adequately rebuild the civilian andsocial infrastructure; the failure to provide civilians with appropriate security; and the choices of weapons and tactics often used in military operations all constitute war crimes. Regardless of therationale for invading and occupying Iraq, the U.S. and British governments, their commanders and all their soldiers in the field are accountable for these grave breaches.