Changes in Law – Attempt to get away with War Crimes
Posted on May 26th, 2013
By Afshain Afzal
Changes in Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) of 18 September 2001 thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ allowed USA forces to go after the perpetrators of the 11 September attacks on Pentagon and World Trade Centre are being worked out. The barbaric geographicallyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ limitless War on Terror that allows USA without any legal authority to carry out armed attack on any nation. So far those countries that witnessed US attacks, over a decade and a quarter, include Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Mali, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Congo, Syria and many more.
One wonders where is United Nations Organizations and hundreds of international peace groups and organizations. The list of war crimes and human rights violations by US personnel as well as partners have never been condemned by these organizations. There are serious concerns if any International Law or UN Charter exists or not. These organizations have become coffin thieves deputed on the distribution of graves. Why the mass graves in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan are not visible to the world? Which law allows USA to intrude and occupy another country on the suspicion that some elements of Al Qaida are hiding there? USA’s intruders were not welcome by the governments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya and many other countries but still world and international organizations are supporting them. One wonders Washington and some other countries claim that Al-Qaida is involved in terrorism. Even if it true (for the sake of discussion), Al Qaida is not a nation that justify a foreign nation like US to breach the sovereignty of other countries to hunt Al Qaida in foreign lands.
The media personnel who dare to write the truth are threatened for dire consequences while emails and crank calls are received by them in the shape of death warnings. This speaks of level of freedom of expression. In a recent development, all of a sudden the US President Barack Hussain Obama has changed his tone. In a statement, he said, “As Commander-in-Chief, I believe we must keep information secret that protects our operations and our people in the field.”
With these remarks, the freedom of press in USA, especially for investigative reporters has come under draconian check. Where, state machinery express determination to maintain the freedom of press in the country, the impression that world generally carry after the recent series of incidents is that investigative journalism that once claimed to holds US government accountable has been taken its last breath.
Serious concerns have been witnessed among media personnel about the impartiality of the US’ state machinery in dealing with the journalists. The communication of the media personnel was being wired without authority was doubted but recent phone records of journalists and media have left no room for any ambiguity. Some of the foreignƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ journalists in contact were asked to comment on statement of President Obama, “The Justice Department’s investigation of national security leaks offers a recent example of the challenges involved in striking the right balance between our security and our open society.”
Many declined to comment that no media personnel can dare talk about anything. Some said that they admit that they work on the dictation of CIA. Yet one of them started talking rot about US policies with regard to immigrant reporters. Presently, reporters are governed under Department of Justice guidelines for investigations but new changes would allow state and intelligence machinery to easily blackmail them.
Interestingly, the US media policy for the enemies and adversaries are quite opposite what Washington expect from own reporters, journalists and other media personnel. The Congress has been tasked to pass a media shield law to guard against government overreach.
A code of conduct has been framed that brings media personnel under aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ law that demands their commitment to protect classified information. The problem with the law, once passed, would be treatment of US media personnel working in foreign land or at home and committing the same offence against foreign nations.
Is Washington prepared to see American and other foreign journalists prosecuted. Washington wants to brings changes in AUMF to continue to fight terrorism without keeping America on a perpetual wartime footing. The development is linked with humiliating defeats at various theaters around the world and rise of home grown terrorism.
The events compelled President Obama to say, “Americans cannot be on a war footing forever”. Washington must be prepared for self-catharses and accountability. Where there is immediate requirement to restore the rule of law inside USA as ironically there is public reaction inside US, in which war-veterans and agents have become worse enemies of US and western world.
These discarded beasts have neither been able to earn ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ respect in the American society nor the world at large. War crimes and human right violations haunts them. The dead bodies of thousands of Muslim infants and those who have not even reached their teens do not allow them to sleep. The rape and torture of men and women and their brutal killings on the basis of suspicion have no parallel in the world history. One wonders how we can allow the United States of America as a state to run away like this. It is high time that trial of ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ these war criminals and enemies of humanity must be carried out in International Court of Justice and sanctions be imposed against these them.
afshain@hotmail.com
May 26th, 2013 at 1:44 pm
USA will never face war crimes charges.
One law for them, another law for others.
“Americans cannot be on a war footing forever.”
So that is their WEAK point. Make use of their weak point.
May 26th, 2013 at 1:49 pm
Keep USA occupied for another 10 years.
Every peace loving person should support Bashar al Assad.
Coward Russians should sell him S-300 missiles. No point holding back. Russia, TEST your weapons in Syria. It DOES NOT matter he is Shia. He is the ONLY man fighting against Afghanistan war criminals ON BOTH SIDES.
May 27th, 2013 at 1:46 pm
“LONDON (Reuters) – Around a thousand far-right protesters shouting “Muslim killers, off our streets” marched through central London on Monday against a backdrop of swelling anti-Muslim feeling following the killing of a British soldier last week.
Lee Rigby, a 25-year-old soldier, was hacked to death in broad daylight in a south London street by two men who said they killed him in the name of Islam. The attack has shocked Britain and stirred an anti-Muslim backlash, including attacks on mosques.
In a tense but largely peaceful demonstration, supporters of the far-right English Defence League (EDL) rallied in London outside Prime Minister David Cameron’s residence waving placards and shouting anti-Islamic obscenities.
“Islamic extremism is probably the number one threat to Britain,” said one protester, Ben Gates. Other demonstrators chanted “Muslim bombers off our streets”.”
It was NOT done by BBS!!
Can you see the COMMON DENOMINATOR in SL and London (not to mention USA, Israel, Iraq, Syria, Bali, etc. etc.)?
May 27th, 2013 at 6:49 pm
Dear old Billary Clinton is now positioning herself for a run for the US Presidency in 2016. She began in the time-honored traditional fashion of US Presidential candidates by announcing she had no interest whatever in running for the Presidency, which is of course pure HOGWASH!
She declined to serve as the Secretary of State in Obama’s second term administration, so she could start disassociating herself from Obama’s policies, and have more freedom to pursue independent policies potentially critical of the Obama administration.
Billary Clinton’s becoming the US President in 2016 presents HUGE problems for Sri Lanka. As we recall, Tamils for Clinton injected huge sums of illegal funds into Clinton’s 2008 Presidential campaign. Luckily, that illegal contribution of campaign funds was discovered, and the contributed funds were returned to the Tamils for Clinton front of the LTTE in a hurry by Billary’s campaign which feigned that she was not aware that the contribution was illegal.
Billary, the woman of unbounded ambition that she is, did not lose sight of the fact that the Eelamist Tamil Diaspora represented a source of nearly UNLIMITED CAMPAIGN FUNDS if she runs for the US Presidency in 2016.
As we all know, the US State Department under Billary’s control, took a very hardline against Sri Lanka … which continues to this day. Was there a connection between the promise of future funds in 2016 and the especially hardline she took against Sri Lanka during her tenure as Secretary of State, even going to the extent of pressuring the Government of Sri Lanka to allow the US to extract 50 of the top LTTE leaders, including Prabhakaran, out of the Mullaitivu pocket under the pretext of “saving lives of civilians”? We will never know really …. will we …. unless another Wikileaks spills the beans a decade from now!!
Lo and behold, UNLIMITED CAMPAIGN FUNDS can NOW be contributed LEGALLY! The US Supreme Court decision that held that UNLIMITED AMOUNTS OF CAMPAIGN FUNDS can be LEGALLY donated to third-party political groups supporting political candidates in elections, but not directly to the candidates themselves, unleashed a FLOOD OF LOBBYISTS MONEY in the 2012 US Presidential election, undermining the very basis of American democracy. It is now Government OF the LOBBYISTS, BY the LOBBYISTS, FOR the LOBBYISTS in America.
This law is unlikely to be repealed before the 2016 US Presidential elections, which means that Tamil Eelamists can contribute UNLIMITED FUNDS again to Billary Clinton’s campaign for the US Presidency in 2016. Having already demonstrated her undying support for the Eelamist cause, there is no doubt that a veritable FLOOD of Tamil Diaspora money will find its way into her campaign coffers. So much then for the PATRIOTISM OF US POLITICIANS serving the BEST INTEREST of their Nation; they are bought and sold like cattle at an auction.
The bottomline is: the GOSL should ANTICIPATE & PREPARE for the possibility that Billary Clinton could become the next President of the United States, and if elected, could adopt policies EXTREMELY THREATENING to Sri Lanka’s survival as an Undivided Sovereign Nation.
I recommend that the GOSL REPEAL the 13th Amendment, and DISMANTLE the Provincial Council System now leaving a few years to stabilize a new System of Governance, establish new DIPLOMATIC, ECONOMIC and Trade links to prepare for that event.
Since CAMPAIGN FUNDS can now be contributed LEGALLY by any source to political lobbies, including foreign governments, it is possible, for example, for the GOSL to contribute more funds than the Tamil Diaspora can to the Republican Presidential candidate. Surely, a 250 Million USD campaign contribution would be well worth the money in return on the dollar to Sri Lanka’s security and survival!!
If the RUMP of the World’s Most Dangerous Terrorist Movement (CIA assessment) can buy US politicians legally to serve their interests undermining the very fabric of American politics, why can’t a legal and legitimate FRIENDLY government do so to counter that move FUNDAMENTALLY INIMICAL to the long-term INTERESTS of the United States?
May 29th, 2013 at 7:28 am
Misusing the might of military power could eventually backfire. This happened to both Germany and Japan as recorded in recent history. USA and EU should take note of this and not get carried away with their military might to change regimes to control other nations.