Three nations among others stand out: America, Israel and Ukraine.
America‘s deplorable history reflects barbarism writ large. Killing civilians is longstanding policy. Doing so violates core international law.
It prohibits collective punishment. It forbids attacking noncombatants. Targets unrelated to military necessity are strictly off-limits.
Lawless attacks constitute crimes of war, against humanity and genocide. Committing them reflects official US policy. It’s been so throughout America‘s sordid history.
It’s guilty as charged. Its drone program alone is damning. It reflects out-of-control state terror.
Attacks are indiscriminate. Mostly noncombatant civilians are killed. A 2012 “Living Under Drones“ report explained.
Stanford University’s International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic (SU) and New York University School of Law’s Global Justice Clinic (NYU) jointly prepared it.
US imperial wars killed millions of civilians. Indiscriminate mass murder reflects longstanding US policy.
March 19 marked the 10th anniversary of Washington’s Iraq war. Waging it destroyed the cradle of civilization.
It’s one of history’s greatest crimes. It followed Gulf War devastation and punishing sanctions.
They caused about 1.5 million Iraqi deaths. Most were young children. Up to 7,000 died monthly.
The region’s most developed country was systematically destroyed. The cradle of civilization no longer exists. Dystopian hell replaced it.
Millions of Iraqis suffer horrifically. They struggle daily to survive. Their nation remains a cauldron of violence and instability, and now Syria’s turn.
Crimes of war and against humanity continue. Iraq is a virtual free-fire zone. Washington bears full responsibility. Obama continues what Bush began.
Hegemons operate this way. Fascist regimes give no quarter. America represents the worst of imperial barbarism.
America operates the world’s largest gulag. Thousands of political prisoners fill it. Global torture prisons supplement it.
Crime bosses make policy. Monied interests control them. New World Order ruthlessness reflects official policy. Rule of law principles don’t matter. Washington rules alone apply.
Israel‘s preemptive 2006 Lebanon war horrific. Weeks of slaughter, destruction, mass displacement and human misery followed.
Over 1,000 died. One-fourth of Lebanese people fled for their lives. Terror bombings were merciless.
They destroyed or damaged ports, Beirut International Airport, roads, bridges, other infrastructure, schools, hospitals, power stations, commercial sites, factories, dams, civilian neighborhoods, government buildings, mosques, churches, radio and TV stations, an orphanage, Sidon’s refugee camp and other non-military targets.
Jiyeh’s utility plant south of Beirut was struck. Doing so caused massive oil spillage. Over 90 miles of coastal waters were polluted.
Biodiversity was damaged. Heightened cancer risk followed. Many thousands of Lebanese remain vulnerable.
A land, sea and air siege was imposed. Illegal weapons were used. They included depleted uranium, chemical agents, as well as white phosphorous bombs and shells. They burn flesh to the bone.
So-called thermobaric bombs were dropped. They contain polymer-bonded or solid fuel-air explosives. They penetrate buildings, underground shelters and tunnels.
Their blast pressure sucks oxygen out of affected areas. It horrifically affects people in them. It’s a terror weapon designed to kill and destroy monstrously.
Israel‘s December 2008/January 2009 Gaza war replicated Lebanon atrocities. Appalling crimes of war and against humanity were committed.
Israel did so with impunity. Goldstone Commission findings were damning. They showed clear “evidence indicating serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law…”
Israel‘s lawless siege prevents proper reconstruction. So do repeated air, ground and sea attacks.
They inflict more death and destruction. Children are affected most. Longterm trauma persists.
Ukraine represents America‘s latest imperial adventurism. Democratic governance was destroyed. Illegitimate coup-appointed fascists replaced it.
They’re committing the unthinkable. They’re waging war on their own people.
They’re using tanks, artillery, mortars, APCs, helicopter gunships other heavy weapons, and toxic chemicals against lightly armed Eastern Ukrainian freedom fighters.
They’re willfully murdering unarmed civilians. They’re doing it daily. The May 2 Odessa massacre killed around 300 defenseless city residents.
Doing so reflects how far they’ll go. It suggests much worse to follow. Washington endorses their worst barbarism.
Orders come straight from the White House. No-holds-barred death and destruction was OK’d. Tyrants operate this way. One fascist regime supports another.
Source: veteranstoday.com
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