War Crimes in America

The US military has killed, maimed and made homeless well over 20,000,000 people since the Vietnam War.

Let’s bring the Vietnam War home…

Enough dead bodies to line up, head placed to feet, around the perimeter of Louisiana.[2]

Meanwhile all of New York City, and Chicago are refugeed.

Three Atlantas are filled with war orphans.

And 317 elementary schools are filled with children deformed from Agent Orange, unexploded cluster bombs, and landmines.

Our nation admits these are war crimes of the highest degree.[1]John Kerry, Secretary of State: “[the Vietnam War] was contrary to the laws of the Geneva Convention, and ordered as established policies from the top down.” “The men who ordered this are war criminals.”

Fourth Geneva Convention:[5] Article three: Applies to (1)”persons taking no active part in the hostilities.” And prohibits (a)”violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds.” As well as (d) “the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court.”

UN Declaration of Human Rights [4]

• Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
• Article 17: (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
• Article 30: Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

But it doesn’t stop there. Bombing runs continued for nine years in Laos, and six years in Cambodia.

Almost 2 million tons of bombs were dropped on Laos. That’s 2/3 of a ton for every man, woman, and child in the country. [11]

Killed at time of bombing:[1]

• Laos – 30,000
• Cambodia – between 450,000 and 600,000

Killed afterwards by unexploded bombs:

• Laos – 20,000

Refugeed:

• Laos – 50,000
• Cambodia – 3.9 million

Deputy Chief of Mission Monteagle, Stearns: “Well, we had all those planes sitting around and couldn’t just let them stay there with nothing to do.”

U.S. Senate Subcomittee on refugees, 1970: “The United States has undertaken a large-scale air war over Laos to destroy the physical and social infrastructure in Pathet Lao held areas. Throughout all this there has been a policy of secrecy. The bombing has taken and is taking a heavy toll among civilians.”

Anthony Lewis, NYTimes columnist: “the most appaling episode of lawless cruelty in American history.”

With covert operations following throughout the cold war

1980-83 El Salvador: Arms, funding, and training of Salvadoran forces leaks into El Salvadoran “death squads”

• Throughout Carter, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush years, backing continues.
• Death squads assassinated Archbishop Oscar Romero while saying mass
• Gangraped American nuns
• And were responsible for the deaths of 35,000

1946-present Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), previously “the school of the Americas,” Fort Benning, Georgia

• Charged with anti-communism, then war on drugs, then war on terror training throughout Latin America
• Educated several Latin American Dictators
• Educated many death squad members
• Uses of torture included in curriculum
• A 1996 manual shared with the public advocated targeting civilians, extrajudicial executions, torture, false imprisonment and torture.[7]

Latin American nations have progressively stopped sending troops to train at the school, citing human rights abuses.

• 2004-Venezuala
• 2006-Argentina
• 2006-Uruguay
• 2007-Costa Rica
• 2008-Bolivia
• 2012-Ecuador

Second Nuremberg principle: “the fact that internal law does not impose a penalty for an act which constitutes a crime under international law does not relieve the person who committed the act from responsibility under international law.”[1]

1954-1988 (U.S. Involvement dates)-Guatemala [7]

1. The first sign of democracy ends up with a left-leaning president elected.
2. McCarthy era zealots misenterpret the overthrow of feudal policies as communism in the western-hemisphere.
3. U.S. backs military coup and supports right-wing governments that kill 200,000, including many civilians, until 1988.

1965–Indonesia in East Timor[8]

• U.S. military aid and training allows the massacre of half a million potentially leftist dissenters.
• 1975, under cover of an embargo U.S. funnels arms and aid to a “cleansing” that kills hundreds of thousands over the next few years.
• Within two months, 60,000, or 10% of the population is killed.
• That’s the equivalent of Soviet losses in WWII.
• U.S. aid totals $1 billion in weapon sales (1975-2000), $150 million in military aid under Clinton, and the training of special forces by the Pentagon at least until 1997.

Fighting terror with terror

Responsibilities of an occupying power according to Hague Article 43: “the authority of the legitimate power having in fact passed into the hands of the occupant, the latter shall take all the measures in his power to ensure … public order and safety.” [1]

This means: deaths due to disease, malnutrition, exposure, lack of medical care, and crime due to the invasion are on the hands of the U.S.

Drone strikes are a matter of invading sovereign nations, attacking American citizens without due process of law, and an overwhelming number of dead innocents.

Pakistan[10]

• 74% of Pakistani’s now consider the U.S. an enemy, because
• Only 2% of drone strikes result in the death of high level enemy combatant.
• Drones hover over villages 24 hours/day, traumatizing many Pakistani’s with the constant fear of death from above.
• In recent years almost 1000 civilians have been killed. Including 127 identified children.

Somalia[15]

• The weak government of this state has given the U.S. free reign to ignore local and international law.
• The CIA holds a prison in Mogidishu airport, and unauthorized air strikes, special forces, and drone stikes occur regularly.

Yemen[14]

• First attack: cruise missile aimed at Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula “camp” hits village. Of 58 killed: 22 children, 5 pregnant women, 41 civilians in all.
• Numerous ground, drone, and air strikes since have killed 70+ identified civilians.

Very few countries have violated as many humanitarian laws and codes of war on such a large scale, and for such an extended period. The vast political leverage of the United States, the rising indifference of media coverage, and the alleged need of secrecy for matters of national security have largely enabled one of the bloodiest 50 years in human history.

[sources]

1. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article35432.htm
2. http://www.city-data.com/states/Louisiana-Location-size-and-extent.html
3. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_perimeter_of_Pennsylvania
4. http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
5. http://www.ilsa.org/jessup/jessup11/basicmats/Geneva4.pdf
6. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/bodymeas.htm
7. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monitor/2013/0517/What-does-genocide-conviction-of-Rios-Montt-mean-to-Guatemalans-abroad
8. http://www.chomsky.info/articles/199910–.htm
9. http://iqq.sagepub.com/content/58/2/1.abstract
10. http://livingunderdrones.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Stanford-NYU-LIVING-UNDER-DRONES.pdf
11. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19730710&id=IPwsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=A80FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1169,3911401
12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_casualties_in_the_War_in_Afghanistan_(2001%E2%80%93present)
13. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp
14. http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2012/03/29/yemen-reported-us-covert-actions-since-2001/
15. http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2012/09/24/us-and-others-given-licence-to-ignore-international-law-in-somalia/