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Posted By: Byron Tripp
Tuesday February 2nd, 2010 - 8:58AM
Generally speaking, the term 'war criminal' has been applied to enemies of the West who have perpetrated acts against international human rights and or have broken the tenants of the Geneva Convention. This is simply not always the case. The cases for 'crimes against humanity' and 'war criminal' normally don't get attention when the perpetrators of such crimes are playing for the government establishment of team 'Western Agenda'. Do not misunderstand this article for taking one side or the other. This article is intended to serve as self reflection about the world we really live in and how feeble rhetoric can blind people to the truth.
For debate purposes and considering broader issues, the argument that 'they did it first' or 'they do it do it too' are not logical justifications for when incidents like this happen. Those who use such arguments are no better than children who use such phrases when caught breaking the rules of their parents or caretakers.
If we as the United States are going to continue to convict and then hang, shoot, and by other means kill citizens of sovereign or occupied nations as 'war criminals' through the use of international organizations, how hypocritical then does the United States look when it looks over and ignores such acts of 'war criminal' activity when perpetrated by our Allies, Armed Services or Western Intelligence Communities? (i.e. 1901-1913 colonial occupation of the Philippines; the 1967 attack on the USS Liberty by Israeli forces, etc, etc ) If a mere writer from Northwest Florida can perceive the hypocrisy of how the political establishment of the West can unjustly look over the crimes of Western 'friends' and then prosecute 'enemies' of the Western political establishment for the same acts of violence, then how many more fanatical Muslims can also see this and use it to fan the flames of the conflict they find themselves in. Introspection on a personal level and consideration of this trend in foreign policy is warranted.
Does the term 'blowback' come to mind?
Disagree with me, voice your opinion. Agree with me, voice your opinion. Have additional facts, leave a comment.
Written by Sheera Frenkel - Courtesy of: www.timesonline.co.uk
Israeli officers get 'slap on wrist' for white phosphorus use in Gaza
Israel has reprimanded two senior army officers who were responsible for firing white phosphorus artillery shells at a UN compound during last year’s offensive in Gaza.In the first admission of any wrongdoing the Israeli military found that Brigadier-General Eyal Eisenberg and Colonel Ilan Malka were guilty “of exceeding their authority in a manner that jeopardised the lives of others”.
The Israeli report was in response to a damning UN investigation into the Gaza war, which concluded that both Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian group, had committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity and which called on both sides to investigate the conduct of their forces.An Israeli defence official said that its internal investigation could lead to further disciplinary action against soldiers involved in the 22-day offensive. The two officers disciplined yesterday were served a mild reprimand and had a “note” placed in their personal files noting their involvement. One defence official described the punishment as a “slap on the wrist.”
