Introduction,
Crimes Against Humanity

excerpted from the book

Lying for Empire

How to Commit War Crimes With A Straight Face

by David Model

Common Courage Press, 2005, paper

Introduction


p6
The International Criminal Court for the Former Yugoslavia describes crimes against humanity as:

Serious acts of violence that harms human beings by striking what is most essential to them: their life, liberty, physical welfare, health, and dignity. There are inhumane acts that by their very extent and gravity go beyond the L tolerable limits of the international community.

p6
Michael Parenti in Dirty Truths:

The history of the United States has been one of territorial and economic expansionism, with the benefits going mostly to the U.S. business class in the form of growing investments and markets, access to rich natural resources and cheap labour, and the accumulation of enormous profits.

p7
Brutal dictators such as the Shah of Iran in 1953, General Suharto in Indonesia in 1967, and Pinochet in Chile in 1973, were all installed in power by the CIA, and relied on American support and weapons to hold on to power. Their dependence on U.S. support all but guaranteed a friendly regime.

p7
In 1954 in Honduras, American military specialists trained anti-government invasion forces to overthrow the democratically elected government of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala. After the Sandinista Government in Nicaragua overthrew the corrupt and brutal dictator Somoza, the United States organized, trained, and supplied a guerrilla force known as the Contras in order to restore a friendly government in Nicaragua.

p7
The United States has a high degree of control in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund because of the extent of its financial contributions and the formula used for weighting votes. The IMF, in particular, imposes strict conditions on debtor nations that force them to concentrate on producing cheap exports in order to increase foreign reserves needed to pay interest on their debt. These structural adjustment programs include currency devaluation, reduced wages, cutbacks to social programs, and reliance on the market system. All of these programs benefit creditor nations such as the United States at the expense of the debtor nations.

p7
When New Zealand refused American nuclear submarines access to its ports, the U.S. retaliated by refusing to buy their butter, one of their major exports.

p9
To overcome these obstacles, a president and his top advisors are forced to engineer or "manufacture consent" for policies that might not be acceptable. Edward Bernays, a leading figure of the public relations industry, explains that:
A leader frequently cannot wait for the people to arrive at even [a] general understanding... Democratic leaders must play their part in... engineering... consent to socially constructive goals and values.

p11
Panamanian leader Manuel Nora had been a CIA operative for many years despite the fact that he was a notorious drug dealer. Two factors militated against Noriega remaining a U.S. ally much longer. First, a treaty had been signed in 1978 transferring control of the Canal Zone, a ten mile-wide strip encompassing the Panama Canal, from the United States to Panama. President Reagan wanted to regain control of the Canal Zone and the only justification for revoking the treaty was to demonstrate that the Panamanian Defence Forces (PDF) were incompetent and not capable of defending it. Second, despite the fact that Noriega was working for the American Government, he was also a strong nationalist and did not always take orders from American officials. The American Government needed a strategy for replacing Noriega and for proving that the PDF were incompetent. Therefore, the American administration of George H. W. Bush embarked on a campaign to lure Panama into a war to destroy Noriega and to weaken the PDF.

First Noriega was accused of being a major drug dealer (which was well known for many years while he was an asset for the CIA) who would have to be captured to face drug charges in the U.S. Then to create an incident that would provide the United States with an excuse for invading Panama, they hatched a deceitful scheme to discredit the Panamanian Defence Forces. The Southern Command (headquarters for U.S. forces in Panama) encouraged a group of leaders of the PDF to execute a coup against Noriega with American support. The American forces were to block all routes to Noriega's headquarters so that the mutinous PDF forces would meet with very little resistance. The Americans did not provide the promised support condemning the coup to failure. The next step in the plot was to send a group of American marines known as the Hard Chargers into Panamanian territory to provoke an incident. After extensive harassment, an exchange of shots took place killing a U.S. marine. The Bush administration could now claim that American lives were in danger in Panama and the PDF were incompetent to protect them. Shortly thereafter, the United States invaded Panama ostensibly to capture the "narco-terrorist" Noriega. Between 2000 and 4000 innocent Panamanians lost their lives and entire neighborhoods were leveled to the ground. American forces eventually captured Noriega and installed American-friendly leaders as President and Vice President. J

p12
To convince the American public and Congress to approve a foreign or defence policy, the government frequently invents a crisis to instill fear in Americans, and generate support for the chosen policy. First, George W. Bush's administration warned Americans about the development and accumulation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq with no evidence to support their allegations. Then Bush warned about Iraqi ties to Al Qaeda and possible involvement in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. without evidence. Neither of these claims were valid. By calling colour-coded security alerts and asking the American public to buy duct tape to protect themselves from chemical attacks, the administration further exacerbated American's fear of terrorism. The resulting atmosphere was a pervasive fear that Saddam Hussein was an imminent threat to American security.

p13
In the 2003 American bombing of Iraq, American propagandists, to create an inflated sense of the threat to American security, warned that Saddam was prepared to use his weapons of mass destruction. There was no evidence that he either possessed WMD or that he intended to use them. The only evidence was the word of people such as Bush, Rumsfeld, and other government spokespersons.

p14
To ensure protection from criticism which might undermine their propaganda efforts, American administrations employ a strategy referred to as "marginalizing dissent" (Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman, Manufacturing Consent, 1988). Valid criticism might begin to resonate with the American people and it is imperative to avoid any such criticisms.

George W. Bush set the stage for marginalizing dissent during the 2003 assault on Iraq by uttering, "you are either for us or against us." In other words, anyone who dares to criticize the government is unpatriotic. Bill Maher was fired from the program "Politically Incorrect" for challenging the administration's refusal to ask what motivated the terrorists of 9/11. The Dixie Chicks, a country music group who criticized the Iraq bombing in 2003, were booed at the 2003 ACM awards, had their number one song "Travelin' Soldier" dropped by radio stations, and had radio stations across the country ban their music. Robert Fisk is one of the most respected and experienced journalists on Middle East affairs but is despised by the administration for his refusal to be embedded and for an interview he gave on Iraqi television. You rarely see his name on a column in the United States press any longer because he had the temerity to seek the truth.

p15
Gaining control over the world's second largest oil reserves in Iraq ... was not openly discussed by the administration. The United States did not need to import the oil immediately but control over oil reserves guaranteed them access in the future when new sources of oil might be necessary. Also, the establishment of American military bases in Iraq would help secure control over the entire region.

p15
Most American military interventions are motivated by the need to protect American economic and military interests. The objective of the invasion of Panama was to regain control over the Panama Canal Zone, a vital American economic and military asset. In Guatemala the economic motive was to regain the land confiscated from the United Fruit Company by the government of Guatemala. The economic motive in the 2003 bombing of Iraq was to gain control over the world's second largest reserves of oil.

p16
When the Belgian Congo gained its independence on June 20, 1960, the new Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, was viewed as a threat by the Eisenhower administration because of his call for political and economic liberation. The U.S. government's objective was to maintain access to the Congo's rich resources. Allen Dulles, the Director of the CIA under President Eisenhower, ordered the assassination of Lumumba in August 1960. Before the CIA could act, Mobutu Sese Seko, Lumumba's private secretary, intervened militarily and removed Lumumba from power. The CIA and Mobutu were implicated in his assassination in January 1961. President Kennedy supported Mobutu despite his record of human rights abuses and corruption.

The Kennedy administration supported conspiracies that overthrew six popularly elected governments in Latin America. Military dictators took power in Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Guatemala and El Salvador with the support of President Kennedy. These dictators employed brutal methods to maintain themselves in power including the destruction of their civil opponents.

President Ford supplied the arms and gave the green light to General Suharto of Indonesia for the invasion of East Timor. President Carter rearmed the Indonesian military when their supply of arms ran low.

***

 

World War II - Crimes against humanity

p18
During World War II, Allied Forces decided to prosecute the leaders of the Nazi regime as war criminals. On October 7, 1942, the Allied Forces announced that a United Nations War Crimes Commission would be created to investigate Nazi war crimes. The Commission was established on October 20, 1943. The decision was reached in the Moscow Declaration on October 30, 1943, signed by the United Kingdom, United States, and USSR, to prosecute and punish German war criminals at the end of the war.

The Moscow Declaration states that:

Accordingly, the aforesaid three allied powers, speaking in the interest of the thirty-two United Nations, hereby solemnly declare and give full warning of their declaration as follows: those German officers who have been responsible for or have taken a consenting part in the above atrocities... may be judged and punished...

The London Agreement of August 8, 1945, authorized the establishment of a tribunal for prosecuting and sentencing war criminals. The Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal was drawn up at a conference in London and delineated the structure, jurisdiction, role of the chief prosecutor, and procedures of the International Military Tribunal.

The International Law Commission of the United Nations was commissioned to formulate the principles of international law which were recognized in the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal. All subsequent international laws involving crimes against humanity are based on these principles. The Principles of the Nuremberg Tribunal, drafted in 1950, include the following principles:

Principle I

Any person who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible therefore and liable to punishment.

Principle III

The fact that a person who committed an act which constitutes a crime in international law acted as Head of State or responsible government official does not relieve him from responsibility under international law. J

Principle IV

The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law:

 

(a) Crimes against peace;

(b) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression in violation of international treaties;

(c) Crimes against humanity: Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, or persecutions on political, racial, or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime.

p20
Socrates
"I am not an Athenian, or a Greek, but a citizen of the world."

p22
The International Committee for the Relief of the Wounded was established in 1862. In 1863 fourteen countries sent delegates to a conference in Geneva, and in 1864 representatives of 16 governments adopted a treaty entitled the "Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field." This was the first international agreement to define international humanitarian law. In time, the movement became known as the Red Cross. The Geneva Convention was subsequently expanded to four conventions and two protocols signed by 115 nations:

1. The First Convention (1864) dealt with wounded and sick members of the armed forces in the field.

2. The Second Convention (1899) added wounded, sick, and shipwrecked members of the armed forces at sea as well as shipwreck victims.

3. The Third Convention (1907) included prisoners of war.

4. The Fourth Convention (1949) was about civilians in time of war.

5. The First Protocol (1977) added protection of the victims of international military conflicts.

6. The Second Protocol (1977) brought in protection for victims of local conflicts.

 

The essential principles of the Geneva Conventions are

* respect for human beings and respect for their dignity;

* individuals who do not take direct part in hostilities and those who can not take part due to illness, wounds, captivity, or other reasons, are entitled to respect and protection from the conflicting sides' military operations;

* warring sides and combatants are obliged not to attack civilians and civilian objects.

 

The Third Convention, pertaining to the protection of prisoners of war, includes the following clauses:

Part 1, Article 3 Clause 1
Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of the armed forces who have laid down their arms and those who suffer from sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion, faith, sex, birth, wealth, or any other similar criteria. To this end the following acts shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

(b) taking of hostages;

(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;

(d) passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees that are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

Part 1 Article 4A
Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories who have fallen into the power of the enemy:

(1) Members of the armed forces of a party to the conflict, as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.

Part 1 Article 5
The present convention shall apply to the persons referred to in Article 4 from the time they fall into the power of the enemy and until their final release and patriation.

Should any doubt arise as to whether persons, having committed a belligerent act and having fallen into the hands of the enemy, belong to any of the categories enumerated in Article 4, such persons shall enjoy the protection of the present convention until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal.

 

Part 4 Article 118
Prisoners of war shall be released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities

p24
American Presidents have regularly violated the clauses prohibiting violence against the life and dignity of civilians ...

p24
The third Geneva Convention's protection for prisoners of war has been completely ignored by the United States ...

p25
Convention IV of the Geneva Conventions pertains to the protection of civilians and includes the clauses below.

Part 1 Article 3

In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory in one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:

(1) All persons including armed forces who have surrendered must be treated humanely.

To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murders of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

(b) Taking of hostages;

(c) Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment.

Protocol 1 of the Geneva Conventions pertains to the protection of civilians and non-military targets and includes the following clauses:

Chapter 11, Article 51:

(1) The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy protection against dangers arising from military operations.

[(4) Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited. Indiscriminate attacks are:

(a) those which are not directed at specific military objectives;

(b) those which employ a method or means of combat the effects of which cannot be directed at a specific military objective; or

(c) those that employ a method or means of combat the effects of which cannot be limited as required by this Protocol; and consequently, in each case, are of a nature to strike military objectives and civilian or civilian objects without distinction.

 

Chapter 111, Article 52:

(1) Civilian objects shall not be the object of attack or of reprisals. Civilian objects are all objects that are not military objectives.

 

(2) Attacks should be limited strictly to military objectives.

 

p27
One example of weapons that violate international law are cluster bombs. Cluster bombs disperse bomblets over a wide area significantly expanding the radius of the area destroyed. They can be fired from surface artillery or from rockets or airplanes. Those dropped from airplanes explode above the ground and break up into hundreds of little bomblets which saturate the target area. Because it is impossible to isolate any target with pinpoint accuracy, these bombs often destroy non-military targets.

When the United States bombed Iraq in 1991 for invading Kuwait, it dropped 62,000 air-delivered cluster bombs and delivered 110,000 by other means, littering the country with 24 to 30 million unexploded sub munitions literally a disaster waiting to happen. (Human Rights Watch)

NATO bombed Serbia into submission under the pretext of a humanitarian war. During the bombing, the United States, Britain, and Holland dropped 1,765 cluster bombs containing more than 295,000 cluster bomblets. Not only did the cluster bombs result in civilian casualties and destroy non-military targets, but an estimated 20,000 unexploded bombs remained after the war waiting for innocent civilians to set them off. (Human Rights Watch)

After 9/11, the United States launched its War on Terrorism. The first acts were the bombing of Afghanistan to eradicate the Taliban accused of harbouring terrorists, the destruction of terrorist training camps, and the attempted capture of terrorists, including the head of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden. The U.S. dropped 1,228 cluster bombs containing 248,056 bomblets leaving an estimated 12,400 duds with the potential to kill years after the conflict. (Human Rights Watch)

The use of cluster bombs violates the First Protocol, Chapter II, Article 51 of the Geneva Conventions. This falls under the category of protection of civilians, "indiscriminate weapons" and weapons which "are of a nature to strike military objectives and civilian or civilian objects without distinction."

p28
In April 1991, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority claimed that U.S. ground forces fired between 5000 and 6000 rounds of depleted radiation ordnance in Iraq. In addition, U.S. and British aircraft launched approximately 50,000 DU rockets and missiles. DU weapons burst into flames creating uranium oxide that spreads and contaminates bodies, equipment, and the ground. The uranium-238 that is used to make the weapons causes cancer and genetic defects. According to the report of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, 40 tonnes of radioactive debris could kill 500,000 people.

p30
Nicaragua responded to American attacks on its territorial integrity and independence by filing charges at the World Court. Nicaragua claimed that its territorial integrity was threatened by the mining of its harbours and by an American-sponsored guerrilla force called the Contras. The Court ruled that "...the US was under duty to cease and desist immediately from the use of force against Nicaragua, [and] from all violations of the sovereignty and political independence of Nicaragua..." In achieving this ruling Nicaragua accomplished two important victories. First, it proved to the world that it was under attack. Second, it identified the U. S. as a rogue state: the U. S., under President Reagan at the time, ignored the ruling.

p30
When presidents commit war crimes they must be held accountable by an international tribunal.

p31
Presidents aren't just war criminals; they seek to undermine the institutions that create and adjudicate international law.

p32
The Charter of the United Nations [June 26, 1945] expanded the domain of laws r pertaining to crimes against humanity by extending them to acts of aggression and breaches of the peace. While the Geneva Conventions provide protection to individuals, specifically civilians and the wounded, the Charter refers to the actions of states. These actions could include unilateral acts of aggression, failure to seek means other than aggression to resolve disputes, and declaring war without the authorization of the Security Council.

p34
George W. Bush's decision to attack Iraq in 2003 was a clear violation of both the Geneva Conventions and the UN Charter.

p34
According to Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General, "I've indicated that it [the War on-Iraq] was not in conformity with the U.N. Charter from our point view, and from the Charter point of view it was illegal." (ABC Online, March 2003)

p35
.... Britain and the United States used cluster bombs and depleted uranium weapons ... Iraq Body Count reports that
Among these incidents [of civilian deaths] are included reliable reports of at least 200 civilian deaths due to cluster bombs, with up to a further 172 deaths which were probably caused by cluster bombs. Of these 372 deaths, 147 have been caused by detonation of unexploded or "dud" munitions, with about half of this number being children.

The exact amount of depleted uranium used in the bombing of Iraq is not known but it has been estimated to be greater than the 340 tonnes in the 1991 war. The radiation from these weapons does not discriminate between military personnel and civilians. Depleted uranium may be a contributing factor to cases of "Gulf War Syndrome" affecting American veterans of the 1991 bombing of Iraq.

p38
The North Atlantic Treaty which established NATO, and the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS)...

The OAS Charter states that:

Chapter I Article 2

The Organization of American States, in order to put into practice the principles on which it is founded and to fulfill its regional obligations under the Charter of the United Nations, proclaims the following essential purposes:

(a) To strengthen the peace and security of the continent;

(b) To promote and consolidate representative democracy, with due respect for the principle of nonintervention;

The United States breached the OAS charter when it mined the harbours of Nicaragua and when it organized a guerrilla force to undermine the government of Nicaragua. The OAS Charter was violated when the U.S. organized the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954 and also when it sent the marines into the Dominican Republic in 1963.


Lying for Empire

Home Page