Monday, June 11, 2007

US Arrogance, atrocities and crimes guarantee generations of terrorism and Jihad against the US

Bush's order to attack and invade Iraq was and remains a war crime. -- a capital offense under US Codes. There is evidence that US troops are ordered to murder civilians. There is also probable cause to suspect that widespread atrocities are hushed up and go unpunished.

Bush himself is culpable and should be tried in an international court. Later, he should be tried in the US for the capital crime of ordering a war of aggression resulting in death. As did Nixon, Bush will claim to be above the law, assuming powers that even English monarchs dared not claim. Notably, Charles I asserted a "divine right" and, notably, he lost his head for having done so. Bush claims powers that would have made Charles I blush. Yet, Charles was called a tyrant and executed. Bush is called stupid and let off the hook. Where is justice?

“L’État, c’est moi” is attributed to Louis X1V (1638-1715) of France. Often called the "Sun King", his belief that he was the state flies in the face of those who believe that a nation is, in fact, its people. In the US, that principle is summed up by the words of James Madison whose draft of the Constitution establishes "popular sovereignty" as its first order of business. The founders of the United States, perhaps foreseeing a Bush-like megalomaniac, tried to build into the Constitution as many safeguards as could be envisioned.

I am angry! But worse, I despair that my government has abandoned the democratic ideals of millions of Americans who must now bear the shame that Bush has brought upon them. Once a beacon of hope and freedom, the US now stands for atrocity and repression. This is not my America.

Bush fails every American still loyal to the Constitution. Bush fails every American still hoping that we might redeem our reputation. Bush fails every American who's only crime was believing in the Constitution and the ideals of our founders. I am especially angered that George W. Bush, utterly unqualified to hold any public office, usurps power and presumes to carry out, in our name, a program of heinous war crimes.

I am pissed!

All Americans are tarred. All US citizens are shamed by his conduct and incompetence, his criminality and disdain for the rule of law.

Now --just some of the reasons that the US cannot claim to be the "good guys" in Iraq. We are, rather, villains who have no legitimate reason to be there in the first place.

"Allied" military personnel, possibly hired guns, firing at civilians at random in Iraq.

US soldiers making Iraqi children run for water.

US Marines firing at Iraqi civilians in cars

Yet more atrocities --US Marines Charged With Murder

US Tank crushes Iraqi civilian's car

For stealing wood, arrogant, stupid assholes who dare to assume that they represent US values, crush a civilian's car, just one of numerous atrocities. They should be made to forage for wood themselves before standing trial at the Hague.

And should you think that an isolated incident:

Americans! Get a clue! The rest of the world hates your sorry asses. But the American people might redeem themselves if they but overthrow George W. Bush and his gang of criminals, mass murderers and malicious liars and bring them to justice.

What is meant by justice? The Mikado said "Let the punishment fit the crime". There is, likewise, a clue to be found in the laws of the United States, laws that are reviled and flouted daily by the illegitimate and criminal dictatorship of one George W. Bush.
US Codes Title 18 § 2441 War crimes

(a) Offense.— Whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, commits a war crime, in any of the circumstances described in subsection (b), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.

(b) Circumstances.— The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are that the person committing such war crime or the victim of such war crime is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States or a national of the United States (as defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act).

    (c) Definition.— As used in this section the term “war crime” means any conduct—

    (1) defined as a grave breach in any of the international conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party;

    (2) prohibited by Article 23, 25, 27, or 28 of the Annex to the Hague Convention IV, Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, signed 18 October 1907;

    (3) which constitutes a violation of common Article 3 of the international conventions signed at Geneva, 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party and which deals with non-international armed conflict; or

    (4) of a person who, in relation to an armed conflict and contrary to the provisions of the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices as amended at Geneva on 3 May 1996 (Protocol II as amended on 3 May 1996), when the United States is a party to such Protocol, willfully kills or causes serious injury to civilians.
How Current is This?

You will find amendments to Section 3 at: Congressional Record: September 14, 2006 (Senate), Page S9586-S9588

The latest war is not the only war in which the US, under the leadership of a Bush, has engaged in thuggery and war crimes. Don't forget Bush Sr and Persian Gulf I.

A Report on United States War Crimes Against Iraq to the Commission of Inquiry for the International War Crimes Tribunal

by Ramsey Clark and Others

Index of CrimesIndex of Crimes

  1. The United States engaged in a pattern of conduct beginning in or before 1989 intended to lead Iraq into provocations justifying U.S. military action against Iraq and permanent U.S. military domination of the Gulf.
  2. President Bush from August 2, 1990, intended and acted to prevent any interference with his plan to destroy Iraq economically and
    militarily.
  3. President Bush ordered the destruction of facilities essential to civilian life and economic productivity throughout Iraq.
  4. The United States intentionally bombed and destroyed civilian life, commercial and business districts, schools, hospitals, mosques, churches, shelters, residential areas, historical sites, private vehicles and civilian government offices.
  5. The United States intentionally bombed indiscriminately throughout
    Iraq.
  6. The United States intentionally bombed and destroyed Iraqi military personnel, used excessive force, killed soldiers seeking to surrender and in disorganized individual flight, often unarmed and far from any combat zones and randomly and wantonly killed Iraqi soldiers and destroyed materiel after the cease fire.
  7. The United States used prohibited weapons capable of mass
    destruction and inflicting indiscriminate death and unnecessary suffering against both military and civilian targets.
  8. The United States intentionally attacked installations in Iraq containing dangerous substances and forces.
  9. President Bush ordered U.S. forces to invade Panama, resulting in the deaths of 1,000 to 4,000 Panamanians and the destruction of thousands of private dwellings, public buildings, and commercial structures.
  10. President Bush obstructed justice and corrupted United Nations functions as a means of securing power to commit crimes against
    peace and war crimes.
  11. President Bush usurped the Constitutional power of Congress as a means of securing power to commit crimes against peace, war crimes, and other high crimes.
  12. The United States waged war on the environment.
  13. President Bush encouraged and aided Shiite Muslims and Kurds to rebel against the government of Iraq causing fratricidal violence, emigration, exposure, hunger and sickness and thousands of deaths. After the rebellion failed, the U.S. invaded and occupied parts of Iraq without authority in order to increase division and hostility within Iraq.
  14. President Bush intentionally deprived the Iraqi people of essential medicines, potable water, food, and other necessities.
  15. The United States continued its assault on Iraq after the cease fire, invading and occupying areas at will.
  16. The United States has violated and condoned violations of human rights, civil liberties and the U.S. Bill of Rights in the United States, in
    Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere to achieve its purpose of military domination.
  17. The United States, having destroyed Iraq's economic base, demands reparations which will permanently impoverish Iraq and threaten its people with famine and epidemic.
  18. President Bush systematically manipulated, controlled, directed, misinformed and restricted press and media coverage to obtain constant support in the media for his military and political goals.
  19. The United States has by force secured a permanent military presence in the Gulf, the control of its oil resources and geopolitical domination of the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf region.
Meantime, Colin Powell, on Meet the Press, says that if he had his way, he would close Guantanamo and give "detainees" access to the Federal Courts.

Of course, detainees should have had access to the Federal Courts from the get go. What was Bush afraid of?


Bush, typifies -One Tin Soldier



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16 comments:

Anonymous said...

President Clinton was impeached over a lie about a sexual liaison. President Bush [43] looks like he's going to get away with all that he has done without so much as having been censored by the Congress.

If he really never has to face the consequences of his heinous actions, it will come to be known as one of the most grave miscarriage of justice our species has ever known.

If the Democrats really do not impeach him then they are effectively accomplices in the crime.

If there is really no consequence to all that has been done these last 6 1/2 years, then the US should return the Statue of Liberty because her message will no longer apply to the US.

All my life I have been a passionate friend of the US [I am not a citizen] but what has been done here is such a gross aberration against all that I held dear and good in the US will be null and void. I would not judge the US on some problems and faults as exist in almost every country in the world, but for the offense of waging a war of opportunity at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives, I cannot find any justification for it.

America what have you become?

A former friend.

Unknown said...

Anonymous said...

I would not judge the US on some problems and faults as exist in almost every country in the world, but for the offense of waging a war of opportunity at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives, I cannot find any justification for it.

Nor me! What you have written is more moving than I can possibly express. I hope my humble thank you will suffice for now.

What is to be said of someone whose legacy to generations hence will be one of despair and hopelessness? I can't think of anything more tragic.

I can understand why you might not want to reveal an "identity". However, I would like to thank that all my friends are still my friends.

Anonymous said...

There are many fine Americans, Len. They have every reason to feel saddened or outraged, but no reason to feel any personal failure. A lot of good people are waking up, including in the US. Perhaps a critical groundswell of popular opposition can arise before any attack upon Iran takes place, or something equally horrendous. No question, everyone is going to be picking up the pieces after these idiots (I include my own spineless, stupid government here). You're making your own best effort, Len. It's an inspiration to the many who admire your work. The general tone of political discourse that takes place in the US ("GOP: Sick People Desperately Seeking Scapegoats") would appear as quite bizarre if reported fully in other Western countries. We don't get the full blast of fundamentalist, gay-hating, nuclear jihadism that you get there. You're probably due for another holiday, mate -- perhaps you can grab a decent French red and some brie!

Anonymous said...

The Viet Nam War was every bit as illegal as the Iraq fiasco.

We entered it also under false pretenses and many war crimes were committed such as the use of Agent Orange and the My Lai massacre.

American servicemen and Vietnamese citizens who were exposed to Agent Orange have a high rate of cancer and birth defects in their children.

As far as I know, there hasn't been anyone from the Johnson or Nixon Administration ever held to account.

That war cost us 58,000 Americans dead. The Vietnamese had at least 2 millon dead.

I also see Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld getting away with it. I hope I'm wrong, but it sure looks like history is repeating itself.

daveawayfromhome said...

I think it's gone far past the point where we should be blaming Bush. Not to say that he isnt culpable, he is; but the American public can no longer point at him and say, "oh it was all his fault". No, there ought to be weekly marches, demonstrations, and (the useless gesture of) floods of mail to congressional personel of all stripes (though unless accompanied by a fat check we can guess how much good it will do), all of it protesting this war, this administration, and the state of our nation today. But there has not been, and for that the blame lies squarely on the heads of the American public.
It was never just Bush, because the Republican congress enabled him, and now the Democratic congress, too.
We, the public, blew it in 2004 when we elected a a man known to have lied to us even then. And we blew it again when we didnt throw every single person who voted for war and torture out of Congress when we had a chance to in 2006. It remains to be seen what will happen in 2008, but I have little hope. That the only person getting any positive press for saying "get out" is a racist Texas Libertarian worries me a great deal.

Unknown said...

damien said...

It's an inspiration to the many who admire your work. The general tone of political discourse that takes place in the US ("GOP: Sick People Desperately Seeking Scapegoats") would appear as quite bizarre if reported fully in other Western countries.

Many thanks, Damien but this forum would not have been the same without your many detailed and incredibly well-researched posts. I am increasingly aware of how very weird and out-of-sync the US has become. It was always so to an extent, but until the Reagan Bush era, there were always a few voices on the left. Bush, however, has moved even further than did Reagan.

We don't get the full blast of fundamentalist, gay-hating, nuclear jihadism that you get there. You're probably due for another holiday, mate -- perhaps you can grab a decent French red and some brie!

Oh but I am still on break! So to speak! Let's just say that if I had not made some connections with expatriate groups, I might not hear English spoken outside my new home. And I do like brie with a good local. Life is good. Comming of age during "Viet Nam" taught me that life is precious.

Anonymous said...

The Viet Nam War was every bit as illegal as the Iraq fiasco.

Indeed it was. I am brushing up on my Viet Nam history for another article. How many know that "water boarding" and "white phosphorus" was used in Viet Nam?

daveawayfromhome said...

I think it's gone far past the point where we should be blaming Bush. Not to say that he isnt culpable, he is; but the American public can no longer point at him and say, "oh it was all his fault".

That's how evil works. It compromises otherwise good people. I can't believe that after all these years, they were not able to figure that out. That's how the GOP works. The GOP is a black hole. If you cross an "event horizon" your ass belongs to them. It doesn't matter that you may still call yourself a Democrat. But that's just for appearances. Why do you suppose John Kerry threw the debate. Why did Pelosi sell out? Why didn't Democrats insist upon an investigation of 911, a REAL investigation?

We are fucked over but good!

The entire government is without any legitimacy. America is all but finished.

I just feel sorry for the millions who are dependent upon the Social Security that the GOP had schemed for years to beat them out of.

FUCK THE GOP! I HOPE THEY ALL ROT IN HELL!

SadButTrue said...

The sheer volume of atrocities committed by this criminal conspiracy posing as government is mind-numbing. In fact I am beginning to think that the overall effect on people indicates a campaign of psychological warfare being directed against the American public.

Anonymous noted, "As far as I know, there hasn't been anyone from the Johnson or Nixon Administration ever held to account." That's the problem. People in high office are seldom if ever held accountable for their actions, no matter how grievous the consequences.

When leaders are not held accountable for serious mistakes, they and their successors are more likely to repeat those mistakes.
-- Al Gore in The Assault on Reason

Now we have a regime whose main crimes have been committed for the purpose of taking over and subverting the very mechanisms of justice that might potentially punish them for their crimes. The parallels with the 1930s can't be ignored, Godwin's law be damned.

Unknown said...

Sadbuttrue said...

I am beginning to think that the overall effect on people indicates a campaign of psychological warfare being directed against the American public.

Of that, I have no doubt. Everyone should have heard about the condition reflex by now. We've also been brainwashed by Fox --not just their odious editorial policy but the very nature of the production. It is super-compressed; messages are simplistic and extremely short You are literally bombarded ala that famous scene in "A Clockwork Orange". Simplistic messages drummed into one over and over while in a state of shock and heightened "suggestibility".

People in high office are seldom if ever held accountable for their actions, no matter how grievous the consequences.

However brainwashed Americans, one fact is always known: the truly powerful are never brought to justice. That fact alone makes illegitimate the American justice system and undermines the nation's credibility. Poor people always pay the price whether they are really guilty or not. Texas is not known as the "gulag state" for nothin'.

Now we have a regime whose main crimes have been committed for the purpose of taking over and subverting the very mechanisms of justice that might potentially punish them for their crimes. The parallels with the 1930s can't be ignored, Godwin's law be damned.

Fuck Godwin! I have never said or written anything based upon how it might be received for whatever reason -- especially if that reason should be the perceived effect of previous statements.

If that "law" were taken seriously, one would have to take a poll before saying anything. Godwin's law doesn't describe or define the problem. It is the problem. That's why Democrats appear spineless. They can't say anything without first weighing the political implications.

I don't think Voltaire polled the aristocracy before he wrote Candide.

As for Bush/Nazi analogies --they are either valid or they are not. Godwin, notwithstanding. It is easy to say that they break down for "trivial" reasons ex: Hitler was intelligent but Bush is not or, for example, no one died in the Reichstag Fire. But those are trivial, non-defining exceptions.

A "thing" is what it does. I believe Bush to be a Nazi. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, it's a duck. Bush is a Nazi.

On the whole, analogies of Bush with Hitler, with regard to defining specifics, are valid and amazing. On the other hand, I don't care if Bush is a Nazi or a Stalinist. If I am to be herded into a concentration camp, what difference does it make to me whether it is done by Hitler, Stalin, or Bush? If I am to be murdered by a state power, what difference does it make to me if it is done by Bush, Pol Pot or Pinochet? If I am to be deprived of my rights what difference does it make to me if I am screwed over by Bush, Hitler, or Mussolini?

Anonymous said...

When we got rid of Nixon there was a flicker of hope that we might actually become the promise our Founding Fathers intended, but then the Ray-gun Revolution brought us back to the 18th Century and we stumbled forward and backwards since till we got g.w. bush, the worst possible person to have in the worst possible place in the history of mankind.

I do believe because of bush&co. we have hastened the very clear and dangerous possibility the extermination of our species to a few short years.

Call me extremist, but could anyone prove this possibility wrong? I don't consider myself extremist, but from my vantage point extremist and seemingly insane people are in control of not only our country but other counties too. When in the past the alarmists would scream that "the end is near" humans didn't have the ability to actually destroy their species.

We do now.

And we can't even get rid of the people doing it. We can’t even get “no confidence” meaningless statements passed, let alone bring these criminal bastards to account for their crimes. We’re doomed. We don’t have the time left to stop the environmental and economic tsunami that’s about to crash on our shores. We’re already feeling the effects, and it’s just started. When (not “if”) bush&co. attack Iran the tsunami will crash at that time. The “if” comes in if we can stop them from continuing their march towards Armageddon by stopping them from committing any more aggressive attacks.

But, hating to sound like a prophet of doom, with history as my judge, I don’t have much hope of this happening. The most recent example of my exasperation was the Congressional cave-in to continue the funding of an illegal occupation, against the wishes of the vast majority of the people and one everyone knows is not just wrong, but carries all the heinous crimes described in your article.

Buy the time the people wake-up and get angry enough to do something about it, it will be too late. We’re most likely already past the “fail-safe” point of no return. And even if we do somehow survive bush&co. and bring them to justice we have the wrath of the rest of the world to contend with. And I doubt seriously that there are that many Albania’s out there.

HopeSpringsATurtle said...

Stunning, drop-jaw post Cowboy, thanks. I'm going to have to do it in parts, the info is too shocking and ugly to handle in one sitting.

Life As I Know It Now said...

I am listening to Howard Zinn's "A History of the United States, 20th Century" and when he discusses Viet Nam it is as if history is repeating itself all over again when it comes to the war in Iraq! It is mind boggling to me that when Bush was young he did everything in his power to avoid fighting in Viet Nam but he now willingly and with utter disregard sends Americans over to Iraq to fight another unjust war. When some bloggers call us sheeple they may indeed be right, we won't do anything about what is going on. We are too busy with our own lives to care about the big picture of what is happening to this country. This applies to me as well!

Anonymous said...

Perhaps all our discussions would be a little more meaningful if we didn't shut out what our senses can take in. Like your photo. Somebody's daughter, cast aside like a piece of trash.... What has happened to our moral outrage that we can take this in as if it's a part of day to day living. The Iraqis have every reason to despise every one us. What hope is there for us when we can accept this?

Unknown said...

Good point, hope! the MSM has not helped. It's all just become an establishment propaganda machine.

Anonymous said...

When we got rid of Nixon there was a flicker of hope that we might actually become the promise our Founding Fathers intended

I had similar hopes. Several factors conspired to betray us, most prominently the fact that Watergate radicalized the GOP even more than it it had already been. Watergate was still a recent memory when Tom DeLay began devoting his life to the gerrymander of Texas. It's a short road from gerrymandering to outright elecction theft.

from my vantage point extremist and seemingly insane people are in control of not only our country but other counties too.

You are right but they are not merely insane they are powerful and crooked.

HopeSpringsATurtle said...

Stunning, drop-jaw post Cowboy, thanks. I'm going to have to do it in parts, the info is too shocking and ugly to handle in one sitting.

Liberality said...

It is mind boggling to me that when Bush was young he did everything in his power to avoid fighting in Viet Nam but he now willingly and with utter disregard sends Americans over to Iraq to fight another unjust war

It should be mind-boggling to me as well had I not become so jaded. I am no longer surpised by anything Bushies, indeed, the entire GOP stoops to. I just hope I never lose the moral outrage.

damien said...

What has happened to our moral outrage that we can take this in as if it's a part of day to day living? The Iraqis have every reason to despise every one us. What hope is there for us when we can accept this?

Right now, it's hard to see how the US can ever be redeemed.

Anonymous said...

Fuzzflash sez...

The Horror some days is almost too much to bear, Damien. But Len, and you, dear blog-brother, and most all who communicate here are not the sort of people who shut the fuck up easily and we don't "accept this" modern day "Pieta" and all that it represents, and we are never going to cop it sweet because whatever personal flaws each of us has, lack of integrity is not not amongst them.

You're urging Len into cheese and plonk, so maybe a few quiet sherbets with a bit of craic at the local, and a decent kip will do the trick for you.

The scumbags will never crush our spirit. What you are doing on the blogs is inspirational.
Mind you, if you're a Collingwood supporter you can get stuffed!

Unknown said...

Fuzzflash sez...

The Horror some days is almost too much to bear, Damien. But Len, and you, dear blog-brother, and most all who communicate here are not the sort of people who shut the fuck up easily and we don't "accept this" modern day "Pieta" and all that it represents, and we are never going to cop it sweet because whatever personal flaws each of us has, lack of integrity is not not amongst them.

As I might have said back in Texas -"that's for damn sher".

You're urging Len into cheese and plonk, so maybe a few quiet sherbets with a bit of craic at the local, and a decent kip will do the trick for you.

Now yer talkin', mate!

Anonymous said...

Thanks guys. Imbibing medicinal alcohol...........NOW!