Dying for Nothing

JBeee

Time Out
Jun 1, 2007
1,826
52
48
Yep. I have read many a C&P from you over at the vine.;-)

....which made you a die-hard fan I assume?
In that case, if you`d like to officially join my fan club, send an e-mail to my secretary, Das. He will cheerfully take care of you.:smile:
 

shadowshiv

Dark Overlord
May 29, 2007
17,545
120
63
52
You have a fan club? I can only imagine what the entrance fees would be!8O:p
 

earth_as_one

Time Out
Jan 5, 2006
7,933
53
48
Is it reasonable to expect a private to figure out on their own that the justifications for invading Iraq were lies and manipulations?

According to the Nuremburg Tribunal, the answer is yes.

Numerous officers and non-commissioned personnel were held liable for failing to live up to this standard by that same Tribunal. All officers are fully apprised of this law when they are being trained for their positions. Therefore, they cannot claim ignorance of the law. Each is personally liable for their failure to adhere to the law that was created by the USA after World War II. Previously, I have posted links from Professor Ferencz and others to confirm this.

Nuremburg concluded that just following orders doesn't absolve you of a crime. But German soldiers fighting on the front did not commit any war crimes. Neither have most American soldiers in Iraq.

Soldiers should have no fear of serving their country within the rules of war. The generals found guilty at Nuremburg went beyond the rules of war. But then again, so did the Allied generals. By the end of WW II Generals on both sides were guilty of war crimes.

...Harris and Churchill teamed up again some 25 years later to execute a relentless terror bombing campaign during WWII for which neither offered any apologies nor demonstrated any qualms. "Now everyone's at it," Churchill said about the deliberate targeting of civilians. "It's simply a question of fashion - similar to that of whether short or long dresses are in."

Bomber's attitude was best displayed when, during the later stages of the war, a motorcycle policeman stopped Harris for speeding. "You might have killed someone, sir," came the reprimand, to which Bomber Harris replied, "Young man, I kill thousands of people every night."

As for the Americans in the European theater, under direct orders from President Roosevelt, US bombers initially stuck to a slightly more humane policy of daylight precision bombing. Unlike their British counterparts, Americans did not have images of the Luftwaffe over London to motivate them towards unabashed mass murder; it took them a little longer to reach the point of targeting civilians as policy.

The risks of daylight bombing runs did not pay off in accuracy-only 50 percent of US bombs fell within a quarter of a mile of the target. America soon joined its English allies in the execution of nighttime area bombing campaigns of civilian targets in Germany. The saturation bombardment of Bomber Harris and his US counterparts resulted in at least 635,000 dead German civilians...

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=3003

If Germany had won that war, I'm sure Harris and Churchill would have been charged with war crimes.

Should Bomber Command pilots refused to bomb German civilians?
 

Zzarchov

House Member
Aug 28, 2006
4,600
100
63
Side Note 1: You do not need UN approval for a war. The UN is not the one in charge of defining legal and illegal, it has no legal nor moral authority to do so (seriously, its a forum for debate and dialogue not a governing body, look at the members, did you ever approve of letting North Korea have a say in morality?)

Side Note 2.) By perpetrating Genocide all nations were obliged nearly 20 years ago to try Saddam for war crimes, using war if needed. So in terms of a Legal war, as long as that pretext is there (Whether or not thats what the war was "sold" as is irrelevant in this context).

So in no way is this war illegal. A bad idea? one can easily argue that, but illegal and a war crime? No. Would it be illegal if Saddam Hussien had not committed Genocide and other war crimes? Yes.
 

earth_as_one

Time Out
Jan 5, 2006
7,933
53
48
The former Secretary General of the United Nations who is a recognized authority on international law said this:

Lessons of Iraq war underscore importance of UN Charter - Annan

[SIZE=-1]16 September 2004 [/SIZE]– Secretary-General Kofi Annan believes that the Iraq war in 2003 demonstrated the need for the international community to address the issue of preventive action in the context of Charter principles and showed the importance of joint efforts on matters of use of force, a United Nations spokesman said today.
Responding to media questions about the Secretary-General's comments in a BBC interview, spokesman Fred Eckhard told a press briefing in New York that in his remarks the Secretary-General had reiterated his well-known position that the military action against Iraq was not in conformity with the UN Charter. In the interview, Mr. Annan was repeatedly asked whether the war was "illegal." "Yes," he finally said, "I have indicated it is not in conformity with the UN Charter, from our point of view, and from the Charter point of view it was illegal."...

http://www.un.org/apps/news/storyAr.asp?NewsID=11953&Cr=Iraq&Cr1

Can't get much clearer than that. The US signed the UN charter. That means they are obligated to follow it or withdraw from the UN.
 

earth_as_one

Time Out
Jan 5, 2006
7,933
53
48
Analysis: Iraq war legality
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/frontpage/4482029.stm

Also this statement:

This Resolution (1441) constitutes the world community’s demand that Iraq disclose and destroy its weapons of mass destruction.

Explanation of Vote by Ambassador John D. Negroponte, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, following the vote on the Iraq Resolution, Security Council, November 8, 2002

...As we have said on numerous occasions to Council members, this Resolution contains no “hidden triggers” and no “automaticity” with respect to the use of force. If there is a further Iraqi breach, reported to the Council by UNMOVIC, the IAEA, or a member state, the matter will return to the Council for discussions as required in paragraph 12. The Resolution makes clear that any Iraqi failure to comply is unacceptable and that Iraq must be disarmed. And one way or another, Mr. President, Iraq will be disarmed. If the Security Council fails to act decisively in the event of a further Iraqi violation, this resolution does not constrain any member state from acting to defend itself against the threat posed by Iraq, or to enforce relevant UN resolutions and protect world peace and security...

http://www.un.int/usa/02_187.htm

Iraq claimed they were disarmed. UNMOVIC found minor technical violations and were dealing with those issues. When the US attacked Iraq, Hans Blix just finished making this statement:

SECURITY COUNCIL 7 MARCH 2003

Oral introduction of the 12th quarterly report of UNMOVIC​
Executive Chairman Dr. Hans Blix​

Mr. President,


For nearly three years, I have been coming to the Security Council presenting the quarterly reports of UNMOVIC. They have described our many preparations for the resumption of inspections in Iraq. The 12th quarterly report is the first that describes three months of inspections. They come after four years without inspections. The report was finalized ten days ago and a number of relevant events have taken place since then. Today’s statement will supplement the circulated report on these points to bring the Council up-to-date....

...The destruction undertaken constitutes a substantial measure of disarmament – indeed, the first since the middle of the 1990s. We are not watching the breaking of toothpicks. Lethal weapons are being destroyed...
....Mr. President,

Let me conclude by telling you that UNMOVIC is currently drafting the work programme, which resolution 1284 (1999) requires us to submit this month. It will obviously contain our proposed list of key remaining disarmament tasks; it will describe the reinforced system of ongoing monitoring and verification that the Council has asked us to implement; it will also describe the various subsystems which constitute the programme, e.g. for aerial surveillance, for information from governments and suppliers, for sampling, for the checking of road traffic, etc.

How much time would it take to resolve the key remaining disarmament tasks? While cooperation can and is to be immediate, disarmament and at any rate the verification of it cannot be instant. Even with a proactive Iraqi attitude, induced by continued outside pressure, it would still take some time to verify sites and items, analyse documents, interview relevant persons, and draw conclusions. It would not take years, nor weeks, but months....

http://www.un.org/Depts/unmovic/SC7asdelivered.htm

10 days later Bush made this speech:

March 17, 2003
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans serif]President Says Saddam Hussein Must Leave Iraq Within 48 Hours[/FONT]


...Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised. This regime has already used weapons of mass destruction against Iraq's neighbors and against Iraq's people.


The regime has a history of reckless aggression in the Middle East. It has a deep hatred of America and our friends. And it has aided, trained and harbored terrorists, including operatives of al Qaeda.
The danger is clear: using chemical, biological or, one day, nuclear weapons, obtained with the help of Iraq, the terrorists could fulfill their stated ambitions and kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent people in our country, or any other....

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030317-7.html




 

earth_as_one

Time Out
Jan 5, 2006
7,933
53
48
Eventually even Bush had to admit Iraq did not possess WMDs or links to al Qaeda.

Iraq dumped WMDs years ago, says Blix



[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]No evidence to link Saddam with September 11 attacks, Bush admits[/FONT]

[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Oliver Burkeman in Washington
Thursday September 18, 2003
The Guardian


[/FONT]
The former UN chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, believes that Iraq destroyed most of its weapons of mass destruction 10 years ago, according to an interview broadcast yesterday.
The claim came on the same day that President George Bush stated more bluntly than ever that there is no evidence to link Saddam Hussein to the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001 - despite 69% of Americans believing Saddam had a personal role, according to a recent Washington Post opinion poll. Mr Blix, who spent three years hunting for chemical, biological and nuclear weapons in Iraq as head of the UN monitoring, verification and inspection commission, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation listeners: "I'm certainly more and more to the conclusion that Iraq has, as they maintained, destroyed all, almost, of what they had in the summer of 1991...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1044511,00.html

There is no evidence that 69% of the sheeple have wised up yet.
 

JBeee

Time Out
Jun 1, 2007
1,826
52
48
Eventually even Bush had to admit Iraq did not possess WMDs or links to al Qaeda.



There is no evidence that 69% of the sheeple have wised up yet.

Wised up to what....that Paris Hilton has found God while imprisoned for the last week? *smile*
 

DaSleeper

Trolling Hypocrites
May 27, 2007
33,676
1,666
113
Northern Ontario,
....which made you a die-hard fan I assume?
In that case, if you`d like to officially join my fan club, send an e-mail to my secretary, Das. He will cheerfully take care of you.:smile:
If you had told me the job involved working I would have asked for more money:cool:
 

JBeee

Time Out
Jun 1, 2007
1,826
52
48
If you had told me the job involved working I would have asked for more money:cool:

A boom in my fan club since arriving here?;-)

Hey Das....one day you`ll get somewhere in life. Stick around young man.
Opportunities abound!....now shuddup an keep taking orders....:-|
 

JBeee

Time Out
Jun 1, 2007
1,826
52
48
You also have competition......from bots.....You want me to complain to management that automation is stealing your thunder?????

S
Is that that CBC/Reuters stuff I keep seeing flooding the board every now and then?
Bahh!!
Look for the `JBeee' symbol if you want the real story.;-)
 

earth_as_one

Time Out
Jan 5, 2006
7,933
53
48
Wised up to what....that Paris Hilton has found God while imprisoned for the last week? *smile*
Exactly my point. Thank you!

Here's a formula which describes the process:

If input equals garbage, then output equals garbage.

The news typically is meaningless infotainment in order to divert attention from what's going on. But when events are too big too ignore, the news becomes manipulating propaganda. The result is 69% of the people can't tell $hit from Shinola and live in a world isolated from reality.

For example, while the News was covering this event for weeks to the exclusion of everything else:

Jennifer Carol Wilbanks, (a.k.a. "The Runaway Bride") (born August 25, 1973) is an American who ran away from home on April 26, 2005, in an effort to avoid her wedding with John Mason, her fiancé, on April 30. Her disappearance from Duluth, Georgia, sparked a nationwide search and intensive media coverage. On April 29, she called Mason from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and falsely claimed that she had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a Hispanic male and a white woman...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Wilbanks

Here are some other events the sheeple might have missed:
28 April, 2005
Global warming 'proof' detected
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4495463.stm

1 May, 2005
North Korea 'tests new missile'

N Korea has not launched long-range missiles since 1998
The US and Japan say they are looking into reports that North Korea has test-fired a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the missile had flown about 100km (62 miles) into the sea.

Tokyo has been monitoring the situation after earlier warnings that Pyongyang is close to testing a nuclear warhead.

North Korea has already developed long-range missiles that reach Japan and has pulled out of nuclear talks...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4503531.stm

Our news is sort of like the movie, The Wizard of Oz:
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain
 

MikeyDB

House Member
Jun 9, 2006
4,612
63
48
Earth as one

The victor writes the history books and the "rules of war"...and the entitlements....

The United States exterminated hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians burning virtually all Japanese cities with incendiaries with night after night of bombardment... Robert S. McNamara has admitted that if the Japaese had won WWII the American administration would have been tried as war criminals and by any metric of justice...would have been found guilty of crimes against humanity.

The inconsisencies of the American policy of ambivalence toward chemical warfare is a glaring example of hypocrisy and double-talk. After phosgene and mustard gas were used in WWI, "civilized" nations of the world decided that chemical weapns and chemical warfare were simply too devastating to the planet at large to be sanctioned as appropriate military instruments...

Then the United States toxified the soils of North Vietnam and the rationale used was that it wasn't their "intent" to promote the use of chemical warfare but simply a means to an end...

When the American ally Iraq faced potential defeat at the hands of the Iranian forces, it was the United States that supplied the Republican Guard and the Iraqi military with the WMDs that became the lynchpin for the rationale of invading Iraq.

We now live in a world where a fanatic can convince a cadre of adherents that highjacking a few domestic aircraft and crashing them into buildings is an appropriate expression of the Islamic Jihad... We live in a world where anthrax mailed to American political mandarins...came from the U.S. Army's biochemical weapons laboratories within the United States.

We live in a world where the United States feels it's now appropriate to proliferate missiles around the border of the Russian republic when but a few years ago the United States was prepared to go to war to prevent Russia from placing missiles in Cuba.....

Unless the people of the free-world get their governments in order and begin to hold their elected representatives accountable for their behaviour...dying for nothing isn't the name of the game at all.

Democratic societies should demand that their governments pass laws that require the sons and daughters of the wealthy to serve in our nations military. It sould be the first choice among the people of these democracies to witness how available the wealthy and the powerful are to be the first to sacrifice their children to their families' greed and vie for power and control....

Of course this kind of challenge is extreme right..?

And of course would never come about because...well we all embrace the myth that we live in societies where our voices have meaning....

We don't.

Our voices have been silenced and with our silent willing approval our democracies and our societies are handed over to the bloodletters and the shamans of the new ideology.
 

earth_as_one

Time Out
Jan 5, 2006
7,933
53
48
Last edited: