GORDON DUFF: NO CHOICE BUT INTERNATIONAL TRIALS FOR U.S. CRIMES IN IRAQ

THE NUREMBERG TRIALS ESTABLISHED THE BASIS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

IF DEMOCRATS LACK COURAGE, THEN KEY AMERICAN CONSPIRATORS MUST BE EXTRADITED

By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER

Based on established International Law and legal precedent, all parties to aggressive war, murder of civilians, judicial backing for war and illegal punishment and detention, toture and abuse of prisoners and support of these activities thru news reporting and financial involvement are criminals.

This was our basis for punishing Germans after World War 2 and if anything else is applied to us, we are simply announcing to the world that America supports open banditry, piracy, race killing and theft as a matter of policy.

Currently, our “leadership” is discussing a “Truth Commission” as in South Africa.  However, as victims are primarily not Americans, having one group of Americans apologize to another for crimes committed against citizens of a third country is absurd from a logical and even a legal standpoint.

Key to our credibility is keeping rules we apply to others consistent with our own behavior.  Iraq hanged Saddam under US occupation.  We have prosecuted Serbian war criminals (perhaps protected others) and, of course, established the precedent in WW2 of putting civilian and military participants in a war on trial, often for their lives.

GENERAL WAR CRIMES CATEGORIES

We have a variety of categories of people who face punishment for war crimes.  As clearly established by law those should be:

1.  National Leaders:  Other than “The 3”,  key Congressional advocates and advisers from both Congressional and Executive branches should be examined for criminal acts.

2.  Intelligence and War Planning:  All leaders of the military and intelligence services who were aware they were participating in a war of aggression based on false intelligence need to be punished.  Guilt of those in question can and should be established by putting a significant number on trial and allowing those found “not guilty” to go free.

3.  Direct Participants in War Crimes:  Military and “para-military” commanders whose troops/employees were responsible for acts of brutality against civilians that were avoidable under reasonable oversight and command should be put on trial.

Lower level participants are being actively prosecuted.  However, it is clear that those responsible for their actions are being protected in a manner inconsistent with international law.

4. War Profiteers:

a.  Companies profiting from the illegal war that gave material support to political groups supporting the war are responsible to an extent for the acts they helped finance.

b.  Companies that worked “rebuilding Iraq” who may have helped set up a puppet government and who participated in acts of public corruption in Iraq are war criminals.

5.  Judicial:

a.  Courts that allowed aggressive war to go unopposed, even as evidence of wrongdoing became obvious are fully culpable.  The United States Supreme Court is first on the list of potential defendants.

b.  Courts that upheld rulings that allowed torture or illegal detention of Americans or foreign nationals in support of aggressive and illegal war are fully culpable.

c.  All participants in extra-legal tribunals, civilian and military that are little more than “show trials” may have committed criminal acts.

6.  Legal:  Legal institutions, including and especially the United States Department of Justice, that formulated opinions which were used to justify both illegal war and illegal torture and detention along with “show trials” which violate any standard of judicial fairness are fully culpable.

7.  Police/Security Agencies:  Any law enforcement or security group under government control that was involved in the spying on, arrest, intimidation or interference in any judicial or political process in a manner that supported illegal war or other illegal acts is a war criminal.

8.  Press:  Any and all members of the press who openly propagandized for war through systematic distortions of truth or outright lies is a war criminal.  Especially guilty are those who were in direct communication with political elements responsible for the war and who accepted regular direction.

Those involved in “self censoring” of a free press or, such as those who were “imbedded” with troops, may be equally guilty of waging aggressive war and be tried for crimes.

AUTHORITY FOR EXTRADITION, TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF SENTENCE

Fearing prosecution, the Bush Administration refused participation in the International Criminal Court in the Hague in 2002 as did the People’s Republic of China.  Failure to participate at that time does not, in any way, expunge criminal acts nor does it justify criminal acts.

Systematic detention and torture of combatants is a clear violation of the Geneva Convention, to which the United States is a signatory.  Violations of this convention are, technically War Crimes, and any participant in categories 1-8 may well be in violation of the Geneva Convention.

Gordon Duff is a Marine combat veteran and regular contributor on political and social issues.

Gordon Duff

Gordon Duff posted articles on VT from 2008 to 2022. He is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. A disabled veteran, he worked on veterans and POW issues for decades.

Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.

Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world, and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist, and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.

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