Posted on 11/17/2004 1:47:01 PM PST by johnny7
HUMAN rights groups said today the killing by a US marine of a wounded Iraqi could amount to a war crime and showed the need for US forces to be better trained about the laws of war. "If it is what it appears to be, then obviously it would be a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions. It would probably be a war crime," said Joe Stork, Washington director of the Middle East division of Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International echoed calls by the top UN human rights official, Louise Arbour, for an investigation of suspected abuses in Fallujah, Iraq, including the disproportionate use of force and targeting of civilians. The US military has launched an investigation after NBC pool footage showed a US marine shooting a wounded and unarmed man in a mosque in Fallujah, the scene of fierce fighting in the past week. NBC said the marine had been shot in the face the day before, and his fellow soldiers have spoken out in his defence, saying he was under combat stress in unpredictable, dangerous circumstances.
Amnesty International spokesman Alistair Hodgett said investigations into other incidents in Iraq had been too slow and he urged a prompt, open, inquiry, after which findings should be made public. "The deliberate shooting of unarmed and wounded fighters who pose no immediate threat is a war crime under international law and there is therefore an obligation on the US authorities to investigate all such reports and to hold perpetrators of such crimes accountable before the law," said Amnesty. Amnesty International had already called on US authorities to investigate an earlier incident aired on British television in which a US soldier appeared to have fired one shot in the direction of a wounded insurgent. Mr Hodgett said Amnesty was particularly concerned US military leaders had not properly communicated legal obligations to forces on the ground about the treatment of wounded prisoners and the protection of civilians. "This latest incident is just a further reminder that one cannot take it for granted that troops on the ground will strive to abide by the spirit and the letter of the law if they are not given leadership on that matter," he said.
Of particular concern, said Mr Hodgett, were comments in the past by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld calling "war on terror" suspects "killers" and "the worst of the worst". "Sadly I think some of the consequences of this (attitude) have played out on the battlefield," Mr Hodgett said. The Fallujah shooting incident followed others in which US troops have been accused of violations in Iraq, including the Abu Ghraib prison scandal that resulted in the sentencing of several US soldiers.
Military law expert Eugene Fidell said he was uncomfortable linking the latest incident to the Abu Ghraib prison scandal where soldiers were accused of sexually abusing and mistreating prisoners. "But if the facts are as they appear to be, this is a matter that cannot be swept under the rug. If it leads to a careful evaluation of the training and instructions that the marines and the Army in Iraq have had, that will be extremely desirable," said Mr Fidell, a visiting lecturer at Harvard Law School.
Mr Fidell said he anticipated a general-court martial in which the suspect could be sentenced to death or life without parole if found guilty, but added that was highly unlikely because of extenuating circumstances.
How can the Geneva convention standards even apply seeing as these thugs do not wear any uniforms? They don't apply, and since they don't, we are not obligated to use them, IMHO.
I live in Kalifornia. Writing to FineSwine and BoxedEars about the military is like writing to Kim Jon ILL about human rights for South Koreans. Not worth the keyboard time, sad to say.
Great minds think alike!
"I need to buy a washer, dryer and fridge for my new home"
Still looking at replacing the fridge; but for the washer, dryer, and dishwasher, I bought Miele. MUCH better than I expected. Phenomenal. They are a family firm.
Kenmore is great! Sears has been so supportive of our troops!
See this post for more info on Sears' support for our troops:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1275986/posts
Article 3
In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:
1. Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.
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 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) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.
Actually the Geneva Convention has ZERO application in this instance. Bringing it up is nothing more than a smoke screen for these so-called human rights groups, who are so busy condemning those who would give their lives so others could be free.
It is absolutely disgusting and it makes me sick to my friggin' stomach to read this kind of horse sh!t.
"Hey Joe, why don't you kiss my big behind?"
Hey Joe, you can kiss mine too! Pierre, you can forget about it!!!
I don't think the Geneva Convention applies to non-uniformed combatants.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International can go take a flying F*
This is SICK SICK SICK.
A woman was kidnapped and brutally murdered (and raped?) by these so called freedom fighters. They are terrorists. To give them credit is to say that terrorism is justified.
ONLY ONE SIDE IS GETTING CITED FOR WAR CRIMES and it AIN'T THE BAD GUYS.
Also, the media DIDN'T WANT TO QUESTION JOHN KERRY OVER SHOOTING A KID IN THE BACK AND GETTING A MEDAL FOR IT.
These swine make me sick. Goebbels is laughing in Hell at how well the Big Lie still works.
And apparently at about the same time, too.
Too bad the media never tells us the Gueneva Convention doesn't apply to the war on terrorism. The convention only applies to UNIFORMED combatants and if BOTH nations have signed the convention. The Marine's action, although distasteful, was perfectly acceptable under international law.
Their legal standing is exactly ZERO.
When Soros gets a few army divisions and bombers, I'll start worrying.
*YAWN*
On a few website bulletin boards, I have used the term PEACE NAZI to describe the peace movement in general, and one person asked me for an explanation as to what the term means and why I say it. Here is my answer:
It is intentionally derogatory, and I use it because I believe it has to be said.
It has to do with the foundation of the PEACE movement in the US and abroad and their Communist foundation, and how the majority of the signs held and slogans chanted are not about peace or genuine concern for the people of two warring countries, it is about the anti-American attitudes and the violence-inducing signs and slogans calling for violence against American Troops and President Bush.
Carrying signs calling on troops to kill their officers, to bomb Texas, for Bush to choke on a pretzel and die, for troops to shoot their officers, signs that call for communist revolution, starting fights with people who disagree with you while carrying a peace sign, trying to steal my money in Boston while carrying a peace sign and then telling me because you were shamed into giving back the money that means you are ok after all...
Things like that.
I will NOT stop using it. It is intended to make the peace protestor think.
After all the horrors we found in Iraq, you should all be thankful we went in and invaded to remove that madman. Yet, the mantra has changed, it is now against occupation! Still, not one PEACE NAZI has apologized and admitted we were right. All they do is complain that a people that were under slavery for 30 years have gone looting, and who do they blame? Why the US!! We did nothing to stop it! Maybe because we stayed out of the crowd because the PEACE NAZIS would have complained we didn’t let them vent their anger??
(As a side note, people who are now called PEACE NAZIS didn’t call on the LAPD or Federal Troops to stop the LA riots after the Rodney King riots, did they? They told us all to step back and let them vent their anger, yet all of a sudden, we are supposed to go in and use force to stop rioters in Iraq?)
We never intended to occupy a country like SYRIA has the last 20 years, and where are the PEACE NAZIS and their signs calling on SYRIA to leave Lebanon? They are non existent. The Syrians killed tens of thousands, chasing little children into bedrooms and shooting them point blank.
Did you know there was a Christian Community in Beirut before 1985? Now, they are almost either all killed or fled from the Syrian backed Junta, and not a peep from the PEACE NAZIS, only against American forces sent to Beirut to keep peace. Why arent the PEACE NAZIS arguing for the return of the Christian Community back to Beirut where they lived for 2 Millennium?
In fact, there is not a single country that we ever went to war with that we stayed as the government power for more than 10 years! We always returned it to the people.
And that brings up another point: PEACE NAZIS are NOT against war, they are against wars that the US is engaged in to overthrow pro-Communist or PRO-radical Islamic regimes or PRO-Maoist/PRO-Stalinist regimes.
My point here, is simple: These COMMIES are not for peace. If they were, they would have been screaming about Clinton killing innocents to keep his sexual scandals off the tv,
they would have been screaming for the Hutus and Tutsis to make peace,
they would have been screaming for that madman Saddam to stop killing Kurds or Iranians,
they would have been screaming for the Turks to stop killing Kurds or Greeks,
they would have been screaming for the Chinese to stop killing Vietnamese in 1982,
they would have been screaming for the Angolan Army to stop killing with the help of the Cuban Army in the 1980's,
they would have been screaming for the Muslims to stop killing Christians in Indonesia
They would have been screaming for the Sudanese to stop the torture and slave trade which continues today
They would have been screaming when the Syrians invaded Lebanon in 1985
They would have been screaming when Pol Pot started a genocide in 1975,
They would be screaming now about Mugabe killing all the white farmers in Africa in Zimbabwe
They would have been screaming at the murders caused by the African National Congress and their necklacing of prisoners and at Winnie Mandela who was convicted of murder, yet the communists are silent
They would have been screaming about Tiananmen Square, but they are silent.
They would have been screaming about the repression in Cuba and why so many people have chosen to flee in rickety little boats, but instead they lionize that dictator, Castro
They would have been screaming about the invasion of South Vietnam where the north started a genocide campaign in direct violation of the Paris Peace Accords of 1973 and caused over 2 million Vietnamese to flee in little boats that got picked up by ships like mine in 1981
They would be screaming at the Palestinians for their suicide bombings that intentionally target innocent school age children
Except, the only time they scream is when the US is at war against a tyrant who is support by Russia.
And since NAZI is one of the most vile insults you can give someone in our last two generations, I call them PEACE NAZIS, for they are not for peace, they are for war, they are for the overthrow of my country and into communism and anarchy, and they are a violent bunch who base their foundation on lies and the telling of lies and the repeating of lies.
Good point that! Strangely in the audio you don't hear the lone voice shouting:"please don't do it, he's a wounded terrorist????" Sites was just waiting to get that type of footage and make some money with it. On another post it says that last year he was taken hostage in Iraq,and then miraculously released......Very strange
And less than 30 seconds apart.
Thanks for the advice. I will try to find it in Sears.
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