I've got a feeling we're only a few months -- maybe just a few weeks -- away from adopting the Israeli policy of demolishing the houses of suspected terrorists and kicking their families out into the street.
Whiskey Bar
Showing Them We've Got Teeth
November 7, 2003
I should have said "a few days":
U.S. blasts Iraqi homes of suspects
In a tactic reminiscent of Israeli crackdowns in the West Bank and Gaza, the U.S. military has begun destroying the homes of suspected guerrilla fighters in Iraq's Sunni Triangle, evacuating women and children, then leveling their houses with heavy weaponry.At least 15 homes have been destroyed in Tikrit as part of what has been dubbed Operation Ivy Cyclone Two. Among them were four houses allegedly belonging to suspects in the Nov. 7 downing of a Black Hawk helicopter that killed six Americans. Those houses were leveled Sunday by tanks and Apache helicopters.
Family members at one of the houses, in the village of al Haweda, said they were given five minutes to evacuate before soldiers opened fire.
The original inspiration for this display of American stupidity wasn't lost on the Iraqis:
"This is something Sharon would do," said farmer Jamel Shahab, referring to the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon. "What's happening in Iraq is just like Palestine."
The deliberate destruction of civilian homes by an occupation force clearly desecrates the spirit, and appears to violate the letter, of the Geneva Convention -- as any number of human rights organizations (plus the U.S. State Department) have repeatedly reminded the Israelis:
The State Department's 2002 human rights report, released in March, said such policies "left hundreds of Palestinians not involved in terror attacks homeless." In September, department spokesman Richard Boucher criticized Israel for destroying a seven-story apartment building in Gaza during a raid on a Hamas leader.
I think it's safe to assume we won't be hearing any more public statements from Boucher on that score.
Here are some of the relevant provisions from the Geneva Convention:
No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited.
Fourth Geneva Convention
Article 33
Adopted August 12,1949
Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.
Fourth Geneva Convention
Article 53
Adopted August 12,1949
The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack. Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited ... Attacks against the civilian population or civilians by way of reprisals are prohibited.
Protocol One Additional to the Geneva Conventions
Article 51
Adopted 1977
1.) Civilian objects shall not be the object of attack or of reprisals. Civilian objects are all objects which are not military objectives as defined in paragraph 2.2.) Attacks shall be limited strictly to military objectives. In so far as objects are concerned, military objectives are limited to those objects which by their nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military action and whose total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage.
3.) In case of doubt whether an object which is normally dedicated to civilian purposes, such as a place of worship, a house or other dwelling or a school, is being used to make an effective contribution to military action, it shall be presumed not to be so used.
Protocol One Additional to the Geneva Conventions
Article 52
Adopted 1977
The Army, no doubt, will argue that the demolished houses were being used for a military purpose -- i.e. providing a place to sleep for the guerrillas currently blowing U.S. helicopters out of the sky. But it's reasonably clear that the primary purpose of the exercise is, indeed, reprisal:
Farmer Shahab, 41, stood amid the rubble of the former home of 55-year-old farmer Omar Khalil, who was arrested shortly before the home was destroyed. The military said Khalil's son, who escaped, was one of the suspects in the downing of the Black Hawk.Khalil's wife, Kafey, sat wailing near her wrecked house. "I have no son. I have no husband. I have no home. I will be a beggar."
Kafey Khalil said military officials first visited the house two days ago, demanding that her husband turn in her son. He refused. Then about 10 p.m. Sunday, the military returned, she said.
"They started shouting at us: 'Get up! Get out!' " she said. "They brought a big truck for us. It was so cold we felt like we were dying. After five minutes they started shooting. We didn't have time to get anything but blankets. They brought in the tanks and the helicopters and started bombing."
Leaving the legal issues aside for a moment, the Army's decision to start blowing up farmhouses is quite revealing. It also blows away the remaining shreds of the Coalition's claim that the Sunni resistance is simply a conspiracy of Saddam dead-enders, lacking any popular base of support.
This, of course, has been something of a mantra on both the civilian and the military sides of the U.S. government since the occupation began. Here's Wolfowitz back in June:
"I think it is worth emphasizing that these guys lack the two classical ingredients of a victory in a so-called guerrilla war if that's what you want to say they're conducting. They lack the sympathy of the population and they lack any serious source of external support."
And here's General Sanchez repeating it in an interview last month:
"I still firmly believe that there is no popular support" for the attackers.
We all know actions speak louder than words -- even when those words are amplified by the loudest propaganda megaphone on the planet. By adopting the time-honored Israeli policy of "force, might, beatings," the Army essentially is conceding the point: In the Sunni Triangle, at least, this is a people's war, and the people are on the side of the guerrillas.
Watching the Army's behavior as it slowly -- and very reluctantly -- comes to terms with this reality has been a grimly instructive lesson in how not to fight a counterinsurgency war. The operative word has been "vacillation." Aggressive military crackdowns in the triangle have alternated with brief, half-hearted stabs at pacification -- the military counterpart to the Coalition's multiple course changes on the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty. We've already been through several such cycles since the green machine arrived in Sunni country.
As it happens, Gen. Sanchez's interview was given during one of the Army's "hearts and minds" periods -- which just happened to coincide with the administration's "every day, in every way, Iraq is getting better and better" disinformation campaign. Or, as Sanchez put it:
"I started to get multiple indicators that maybe our iron-fisted approach to the conduct of ops was beginning to alienate Iraqis," Sanchez said, referring to military operations. "I started to get those sensings from multiple sources..."
One of those sources, I'm guessing, being the White House.
But now -- five downed helicopters and a bunch of dead GIs later -- we're back to the "iron-fisted" approach. Only it isn't especially iron-fisted, at least by Middle Eastern standards. Certainly not when compared to Saddam, or even the Israelis. And if the Israel Defense Force hasn't been able to crush resistance in the occupied territories, despite almost 20 years of calibrated repression, it's hard to see how the Army can accomplish the same goal in the Sunni Triangle in the months remaining before Operation Bug Out begins in earnest.
For all the Army's efforts to "show 'em we got teeth," I personally think the message being conveyed by this latest crackdown is one of strategic confusion and political desperation.
The U.S. military has spent the three decades since Vietnam trying to avoid having to fight wars like this -- instead of teaching itself ways to win them. Now it's trying to figure it out on the fly. But the Army's idea of a fresh counterinsurgency strategy still appears to be calling in another round of air strikes. So somebody -- Gen. Sanchez, Rumsfeld, the neocons, the White House -- has reached for the Israeli playbook.
Which is very ironic, given that the Israel Defense Force itself is in the middle of a huge crisis of confidence (and conscience) over that same playbook.
Kicking women and children into the street on five minutes notice before blowing up their homes is a pretty feeble counterinsurgency tactic. On the other hand, it's a superb strategy for promoting group solidarity among Sunni Iraqis, further inflaming global anti-Americanism (on the eve of Shrub's big trip to Britain, no less) and convincing the Arab world that Iraq really is just another Palestine writ large. All in all, a welcome shot in the arm for the Al Qaeda recruitment office.
Criminal, stupid and counterproductive -- the neocons doing what they do best, in other words. Like pigs rolling in shit. And they're dragging the U.S. military deeper and deeper into the excrement with them.
These guys are starting to make the architects of the Vietnam War look almost sane by comparison.
Update 11/18 2:45 PM ET: I rarely disagree with Juan Cole's take on events in Iraq, but I do disagree with his conclusions about this one:
I conclude that the Army had developed a feud with Tikrit. Whenever feuding blinds commanders to the bigger mission, it ends in disaster for the occupying authorities. They really should rethink this thing.
When the Army first started taking potshots at empy buildings in Tikrit, I also thought it might be a case of some lower-level officers and grunts venting a little steam. But I think by now it's pretty clear this is a formal military operation, deliberately patterned on an Israeli original.
I don't believe a professional military force like the U.S. Army would allow the destruction of 15 separate houses simply so the guys on the ground could settle a few scores. I'm quite certain Centcom understands how destructive it is for discipline, morale and combat effectiveness to allow units in the field to run amok.
To be sure, such conduct can't always be controlled. But the generals now in command of this Army saw the institution they love disintegrate into an armed mob in Vietnam. I can't believe they would let it happen again.
That's why I have no doubt these orders came from the top -- from Sanchez or Abizaid, at least -- and more likely from the civilian side of the Pentagon, if not higher. This is policy, not a personal vendetta.
Unfortunately, while I don't believe American military commanders would tolerate a systemic wave of unauthorized war crimes committed by those under them, I have no problem believing they would diligently follow orders to commit war crimes issued by those above them -- Nuremberg principles notwithstanding.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
This is fucking hilarious. Oh. My. God. Watch the rhetoric continue unabated. The shear cosmic stupidity involved in this blows my brain. Pop goes the cerebrum. I am laughing pretty hard right now. Its all you can do.
How can this not blow back in our faces, and whose stupidity is responsible for such a decision. If Iraqi "insurgents" ever lacked sympathizers, they'll have gained them now, for sure...and there are how many million of them?
"How can this not blow back in their faces?"
Is that a rhetorical question?
We're tough enough, we have enough firepower, and gosh darn it, we're worth it! We're just gonna have to try as hard as we can to be the best imperial occupying force ever!
[/stuart_smalley]
WKD, what the hell are you talking about?
And don't forget the plus side of this. Haliburton will be able to get more money to reconstruct the area after it's been destroyed.
No wonder you serve whiskey here. It steels one's nerve and bucks up the courage, which is what it takes to face the truth these days (let alone speak it).
Just got back from readning Mr Atrios. Fuck me, now Bush is setting off a trade war with Britain by encouraging UK operative US firms to shut shop and go home. I'm still laughing, what the fuck? What the fucking fuck? Hes in London about now for fucks sake. The UK is his only friend in the world aside from Israel (who only loves him for his money), and hes taking a shit on Blairs pillow.
The Hubris! The Hubris!
I can't stop laughing here. What a way to start a day. Its unbelievable. The mind blowing stupidity defies belief. What next? Invade Iran? Threaten to nuke Iran Powell seems to be starting off that little endeavour, like the spineless bitch that he is. I used to respect that guy. Watch them use *exactly* the same arguments for Iran that they used for Iraq.
Iraq will soon be the worst of all possible worlds from a strategic standpoint. Because Shrubco failed to plan for the aftermath properly, we have now squandered any grace period to make the occupation work. Shrubco's policy calculations are now going to be driven by re-election demands, rhetoric to the contrary notwithstanding, which means that we are going to try to figure out how to bug out as fast as possible. Depending on how badly Shrubco screws up the remaining time the US is in Iraq, we could end up with a very large US-hating Muslim fundamentalist dominated nation sitting on top of billions of barrels of oil. In other words, President Dimbulb may wind up creating the very nightmare that this war was supposed to avoid. Of course, if the whole reason for this little adventure is to create a situation that could justify a state of permanent war, or at least a sort of permanent war, then I guess this whole strategy was successful.
Ooops, my bad. "Is that a rhetorical question?" is a private joke with a friend of mine. Just moving right along...
p.s. i see the shift as proof that we have adopted the "Lott Doctrine" for dealing with the insurgency: "Mow 'em all down and see what happens."
I think it is at least partly for domestic consumption, though. "We are hitting them hard (after having had our asses royally kicked for the last month).
These shitbrains have no plan and are just flailing about looking for a way to cover their ass. There is no way Iraq will turn out anything near good, and hundreds more will die before it's over. We've fucked up the ME for at least a generation, and the craven lying bastards who led us into it will still get rich.
GWB.RIH.
The U.S. military has spent the three decades since Vietnam trying to avoid having to fight wars like this -- instead of teaching itself ways to win them.
This is the most fascinating thing about this whole endeavor. What the hell have we been teaching our military, especially at the academies, over the last 30 years? I mean really?
Hasn't there been any instruction on how to counter-act a guerilla insurgency? I can see where chicken-hawk politicians want to target civilian institutions, but shouldn’t the military know better? Sanchez?!?
I would be really interested if there are any academy trained military out there that can answer this question. I would also like to see Clark address this issue.
"I think it is at least partly for domestic consumption, though. "We are hitting them hard..."
You might be right. Which just goes to prove that Shrub isn't the only one with an aversion to reading about world events. After all, the tactic has been proven to be such a resounding success in Palestine.
Well they shut down the Army's Peacekeeping Institute. That should tell you something.
collective punishment for the families of suspected insurgents?
well, well, well ... congratulations and a hearty "sieg heil" to the retard who came up with yet another grand idea to depict the united states army as a horde of uncivilized barbarians running amuck.
p.s. nice to see you back, billmon
I didn't particularly want to come back just yet. But I couldn't let this one go by without saying something.
I dunno, Billmon, we picked our enemies in Somalia.
The tribes are part of the political landscape, and we've already run afoul of them, which is why pipelines keep blowing up (we stopped paying the tribes Saddam used to have out there protecting them).
If there's a tribe that's our automatic enemy, wouldn't it be in Tikrit?
anyhow, that's how I read Cole.
May we get rid of this crazy administration so Billmon can have a real sabbatical.
Here's another thought about the futility of following the Israeli model. In Israel, they can just barely manage to build a wall within the span of a year.
But how does this administration plan on building a wall around the oil fields, the pipelines, between the three major population centers, and around the borders through which so many reputed foreign fighters are entering the country, all before the election? Ain't going to happen. And given that reality, there is no way you can botch counter-insurgency so badly and expect things anywhere to be peaceable enough not to break out into one hell of a civil war?
And furthermore, we've already taken hostages and tried to privatize state industries, to say nothing of the issue of the prisoners we've brought to this hemisphere.
I think the whole "9/11 is a blank check for whatever brutality gets me off today" ethic is deep-seated in this country, and as losses mount in Iraq, it may start making lots of sense there, too.
It's happened before. And I don't just mean Vietnam. Our half-century "liberation" of the Philippines produced plenty of atrocities. American soldiers were so pissed off about being plinked by guerillas that they started burying people alive...
Go read riverbend:
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/
These guys are starting to make the architects of the Vietnam War look almost sane by comparison.
Yes, I think the collective title "The Worst and the Dimmest" best evokes their relationship to their Vietnam counterparts.
... and it works so well for the Israelis, who would have thunk it wouldn't work for the US?
No wonder the Shrubco line has always been to try to exempt Americans from international law and war crimes jurisdiction. I always thought it was just a philosophical position that reactionaries have, but it was much more practical. In fact, it represents the only evidence offoresight and planning this band of twits has shown in this whole misadventure.
Ed
I think the Peacekeeping Institute is now going to be open after all...unfortunatly I can't find a link.
Sorry you feel the need to stop your sabbatical Billmon.
Ya, only unlike Isreal we don't have another superpower that will bail us out time and time again.
We have already lost. It's just a question of how many more people (Iraqui's and Americans) will die before we leave. Plus how many more will continue to die for the next two generations as the world gets over the madness of George W.
It's time to ask the Democratic candidates where they stand on the idea of war crimes trials for higher ups in the present regime once that regime is toppled. Time to give these boys a chance to make up for voting in favor of this grotesque neocon prank which continues to get more and more out of hand and belie any asperations to "liberation."
Julian: There will never be a "war crimes trial" for members of previous administrations in this country, because doing so exposes the current regime to the risk of such acts in the future.
Russ
Legal Memo-Random
As to war crimes trial, that will never happen. the dems voted right along with them.
Re the current situation as posted, don't you think that with our overwhelming need for troops, Israel might have "loaned" us a few? I suggest that they might be giving some "guidance" to our guys about how to deal with this guagmire (i.e., Sharon's way)?
Oh that's good. Get tough with a militarized population. The U.S. could have a Palestine on their hands except for a couple of factors. More weaponry, more population, more tribes. A hard rain.
I had a feeling that something like this might happen way down the line after Shrub started forcing the world to give him immunity from prosecution ahead of time. I am just sad that it has come about so quickly.
His total disregard for any international treaty that is not convenient to his business ends is typical of a corporate CEO. Outside the US, he does not have the influence of daddy to keep him protected so he has to work in a mafia-like fashion to bully other countries to promise not to sic the world court on him.
I would personally like the dem candidates to start looking into this and saying things like they will hand him over to the international criminal court if elected, but they are to busy fighting to see who can get to the top of their pile and not really interested in beating the shrub.
The American public and congress may turn a blind eye to this and the media may not report on this; both for fear of being branded as treasonous. However, rest assured that the rest of the world not only sees what is happening and the hypocrisy that is taking place but also stores this up in their collective memories. The next pres (Dem hopefully) will find that most of their first term will be spent patching a leaking international roof, not unreminiscent of the shelled domiciles.
Anyone else try riverbend's blog and get only an archive page? Oh oh?
Excellent analysis. See also this post: http://lefti.blogspot.com/2003_11_01_lefti_archive.html#106917356425755350 for different aspects of the situation.
Ha. King George X. That is, King George VV (W). I am going to refer to the fuck as that from now on.
I wonder how long the geographical isolation of my country will protect us from this shit.
Next year, when you guys have your presidential election (my advice, get some observers), I'm gonna get good and drunk.
I must respectfully disagree with my sisteren and bretheren who think this is a cause for chortling. There is nothing funny about this at all. This travesty of a war of conquest has turned what was once one of the most respected and civilized armies in the world into an army of vengeful Rambos. I have to wonder how long it will be until an out-of-control NCO or young lieutenant, frustrated by seeing his men die for no reason, gives the order to open up on a bunch of "Hajis" who are causing no harm -- and a non-US reporter picks up on it?
Wesley Clark hit it on the head today with Fox: it's not the GIs who should be held accountable for this horror, it's the President.
sgc
Well, I suppose one can laugh in pain.
RichM: here's part of the story, dated August:
In a move widely seen within the Pentagon as a purge, a dozen or more Army generals are being ushered into retirement as the Army’s new chief of staff, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, takes over.
In advance of Schoomaker’s swearing-in last Friday, the Army’s acting chief, Gen. John Keane—who is himself retiring—spoke with a list of three- and four-star generals, thanked them for their services and told them it was time to go. Sources say Keane first contacted half a dozen names, but by the end of the week the list had reportedly grown to 11—”with more to come within 30 days,” according to one Army source. The Army has a total of 50 three- and four-star generals. A senior Pentagon civilian called the move “housecleaning.”
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has made no secret of his dissatisfaction with what he sees as unimaginative Army leadership. Schoomaker, too, is critical of a culture he sees as risk-averse and change-resistant. In comments made privately but now circulat-ing widely in the Pentagon, Schoomaker said recently: “Rumsfeld might think we’re at war with terrorism, but I’ll bet he also thinks he is at war within the Pentagon ... It’s a war of the culture.”
The list of retirees was, sources say, drawn up in discussions between Rumsfeld, Schoomaker and Keane. Most of those going are being axed not for personal failings but to open up job slots that are viewed as key to Army transformation. But Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita said any suggestion the moves were at Rumsfeld’s behest was “utter nonsense.”
—John Barry (link)
Yes, go read riverbend
"They've been bombing houses in Tikrit and other areas! Unbelievable… I'm so angry it makes me want to break something!!!! What the hell is going on?! What do the Americans think Tikrit is?! Some sort of city of monsters or beasts? The people there are simple people. Most of them make a living off of their land and their livestock- the rest are teachers, professors and merchants- they have lives and families… Tikrit is nothing more than a bunch of low buildings and a palace that was as inaccessible to the Tikritis as it was to everyone else!"
Lots on what Operation Dumb Strap-on is doing for the "liberatees."
I'm not laughing. I am almost too horrified to speak over the fact that we are following the lead of Likud and the Isralie Army, knocking down the homes of suspected combatants. But after Guantanamo and the Plame outing, nothing surprises me. This stopped feeling like America a long time ago...
more:
"People in Al Awja suffered as much as anyone, if not more- they weren't all related to Saddam and even those who were, suffered under his direct relatives. Granted, his bodyguards and others close to him were from Tikrit, but they aren't currently in Tikrit- the majority have struck up deals with the CPA and are bargaining for their safety and the safety of their families with information. The people currently in Tikrit are just ordinary people whose homes and children are as precious to them as American homes and children are precious to Americans! This is contemptible and everyone thinks so- Sunnis and Shi'a alike are shaking their heads incredulously."
Re: Purge
Seeing any government retiring lots of generals to move in hand picked replacements is worrying. One of the things that has made our democracy strongest is the non-political nature of our military. If the military leadership is picked for personal loyality to the administration we could have a very dangerous situation on our hands.
We are moving toward a one party system that controls everything, all branches of the government, all agencies, the military, the press, etc. The usual checks and balances are being eliminated. Unless this is stopped soon, we will be under an effective dictatorship that may be very difficult to reverse.
Kicking women and children into the street on five minutes notice before blowing up their homes is a pretty feeble counterinsurgency tactic. On the other hand, it's a superb strategy for promoting group solidarity among Sunni Iraqis, further inflaming global anti-Americanism (on the eve of Shrub's big trip to Britain, no less) and convincing the Arab world that Iraq really is just another Palestine writ large. All in all, a welcome shot in the arm for the Al Qaeda recruitment office.
Amen.
What Fuckwits.
Had any illusions about the US retaining a shred of moral authority to broker a solution in the Israel Palestine conflict under this administration?
Poof.
And the rest of the world remains powerless to peacefully put an end to this misguided ideologically based nonsense. You Americans hold the keys. Get on with it in November would you? The world will thank you.
If you vote this lot back in, I fear trade wars will be the least of your worries. I'm getting a frigging dent in my forehead what with all the slapping.
These guys are fucking stupid.
At least, the Israelis more or less know who the Hamas and Jihad leaders are and have some good info on where they may find them if they want to bomb them. In Iraq, the army has ZERO intelligence. They couldn't target the resistance leaders, they can't even name *one* bloke from the entire guerrilla.
I think Juan Cole is partly on the money in that the Army still believes that Tikrit, Fallujah and their neighborhoods are the heart of insurgency, so hitting these hard will silence the entire affair. Of course, once people see this, Shia will become worried this might happen to Najaf or Sadr City. Even Kurds might be pissed off when seeing the US adopting something the Turks would've done to them.
Sure, there won't be war trials as long as the US is the main superpower. No one keeps this charge for more than a few decades nowadays, and with such a behaviour, the US only guarantees it will massively suffer when some future badasses will come to kick them (and I really can't tell who it may be or when it'll happen, except it *will* happen sooner or later).
There'll be more than a handful of Palestinian refugees dancing in the street, the next time Osama scores a big on on US ground.
These guys are just insane.
On a related note, the Air Force will be performing its last development test on MOAB. Any bets we see these dropping on Iraq before Billmon gets back (or is that starts) his Sabbatical?
Wesley Clark hit it on the head today with Fox: it's not the GIs who should be held accountable for this horror, it's the President.
Well now Clark is running for president and I don't guess he sees fit to blame our congress for any of this. But frankly the people on the hill are all acting insane these days as they all in Alice in Wonderland. The Democrats simply cower too more and more harebrained claims from the Republicans. Congress is now playing out fanatical levels of insanity.
And I really think lot of military personnel and the families of the Iraq war, that have been damaged by this war in any way should be interested in suing the big TV Networks and all those Republican Party supporting adverstisers for outright misleading this nation into war-breeching their news mission statements. The major networks simply helped the Bush administration to misrepersent all the facts about this war. As the Washington Post mentions today that close to 70% of Americans thought that Saddam had connetions to al Qaeda and that there were several issues regarding the reliability of Bush's WMD evidence that somehow never made it into the mass media of TV news networks. It's a situation where businesses supporting conservative agendas have conspired with the Bush Administration to mislead a nation about the reasons all the reason to going to war. It says something about how the corrupt of our federal government and largest corporations in the US. The individual states should really think of pursuing legal options since some many of them have issues of security that Bush and congress have not bothered to addressed.
Damn those 5 stupid Justices for giving the US their choice of criminal for president along with all his cronyies. Strange how this nation doesn't seem to really be all the far away from the things that Hitler did withthe massive split that is now developing. And isn't strange how Bush is already worried about someone knocking him off with his visit to Briton today to extreme levels of paranoia. Hilter started fearing assassinations in the last days of his regime.
I guess things can always get much worse since there are a lot of Americans the don't know what their government is doing and don't generally care. This is another area where control of the media has kept the average American from complaining to much.
I had a thought today.
The US has been operating the School of the Americas-- for what, 50+ years now?-- specifically for teaching counterinsurgency tactics. One would think they'd gotten pretty good at it by now.
How is it we can teach counterinsurgency to the Columbians but not to the 3rd ID?
Just a thought.
-- Cerebus
I would personally like the dem candidates to start looking into this and saying things like they will hand him over to the international criminal court if elected, but they are to busy fighting to see who can get to the top of their pile and not really interested in beating the shrub.
Aren't grave violations of the Geneva Conventions also violations of US domestic criminal law punishable through the regular court system?
The ICC is designed of a court of last resort. No need for that.
And I really think lot of military personnel and the families of the Iraq war, that have been damaged by this war in any way should be interested in suing the big TV Networks and all those Republican Party supporting adverstisers for outright misleading this nation into war-breeching their news mission statements. The major networks simply helped the Bush administration to misrepersent all the facts about this war
Want a good example? The Austin American Statesman recently reported that over 800 students or 40% of the student body at Shoemaker High School in Killeen TX have one or more parents serving in Iraq. 40% of the students at that high school are waiting each day for that knock on the door. Killeen is home of Fort Hood, one of the largest Army bases in the country.
And lest you think this is entirely Republican country consider this: Killeen and Ft. Hood are in Texas' 11th Congressional District along with Waco and Bush's home town of Crawford. However, the 11th District has elected a DEMOCRAT, Chet Edwards, to Congress since 1990. Yes, that's correct, Bush's HOME DISTRICT returned a Democrat to Congress in the past midterm elections, which of course caused the Republicans to paint a big bullseye on Chet during the recent redistricting fiasco in the Texas State Legislature.
So what kind of map does Tom Delay come up with to gerrymander Chet Edwards out of his seat? He strips Kileen and Fort Hood out of the 11th District and gave Edwards a bunch of farmland and small towns to represent instead. That's right. One of Edward's strongest bases of support was Fort Hood. So they stripped it out of his district and dumped Fort Hood into a new district full of small bible belt towns.
Something tells me that there are going to be a lot of military families who will be ready to punish Bush come 2004.
London Mayor says Bush is 'greatest threat to life on planet'
"I actually think that Bush is the greatest threat to life on this planet that we've most probably ever seen. The policies he is initiating will doom us to extinction. (...) the most corrupt and racist American administration in over 80 years..."
That takes courage. I wish at least one American politician would climb out of the hole and say it just as clearly. They can't be all oportunistic cowards.
Apparently Harvard University is currently engaged in revising the Geneva Convention. Does anyone know anything about this? I've googled it to little avail.
(PS Welcome back, Billmon.)
I'm just jumping down to say what a fantastic post this is, Bilmon! Don't go on sabbatical. I love your site. We need you. aimai
heh mr. bill, you can not help yourself. your unique scapel action in cutting away all the gunk of the fasicist pizza we are served daily is a moral responsibility. how more blunt can one get?
history news network is quitting his blog. bummer.
Oh, and by the way Cerberus, we probably taught exactly what we are doing now in Iraq at the School of the Americas--crush, kill, destroy--so its not like we didn't learn our own lesson, we probably did.
Take a deep breath.
This is definitely shameful.
But rest assured, calling Americans war criminals is no recipe for victory in 2004. Let's all calm down, think strategically, and give money to the Democrats.
The comparisons with the Sharon policy are probably more apt than we expect. What is the one thing that you can observe as an effect of the Sharon policy in Israel? Sharon is still in power. What if BushCo is calculating an appeal to our worst instincts. What if the calculation that blowing up the homes of these crazy peace-hating 'towel-heads' is the way to hold on to power. Sad.
Well, it's all fine and good to utter fighting phrases here at the Whiskey Bar and talk real tough about how Bush the Minor is leading America down the bath of unending war, preemptory, declared, guerrilla or what not. As several have pointed out, our nation is leaning more and more toward a fascist course. And, as we all know, the US refused to ratify the International Criminal Court. I just wonder what the final line in the sand is before conscience and duty call for active resistance. Is it if we employ MOAB on suspicious Baghdad neighborhoods, (speaking of WMD's); or, perhaps, when the radiation from our depleted uranium weapons reaches a certain level of deadliness; or when a specified number of Iraqi civilian deaths is reached. Or some other factor or combination thereof. Will the democrats fight for Democracy? Or will this culture and civilization quietly sink into the despotism that is beginning to paralyze our institutions and political customs, indeed, Congress itself.
I am glad you are back, Billmon. I don't think there are many moments left before it is decision time for all of us. As to Joe Sixpack, my feeling is that at this time he would prefer to be an ostrich - just stick his head in the ground and forget about everything, still approving of his CinC. Maybe, it will all just go away. Somehow,though, I don't think so.
It's like we are on a strange train which magically shoots out the tracks that it follows, and we are going at a high rate of speed. We don't know how to get off the train and rumor has it that the engineer is insane. What to do? The Germans flunked this test in the 1930's. In this day of ABC weapons, I sure hope we do better.
How our military officers can cover themselves with shame like this is beyond me... Wait a gal-darn minute, I know what it is!
Trent 'Mow the whole place down' Lott and Chickenhawk Georgie were both cheerleaders when they were in college. They are trying to show us all they have big dicks now! Absolutely PATHETIC!
The officers in the US Armey swear to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Well, boys, guess who the enemy is? A hint? Well, he is over in Britain, hiding behind the Queens petticoats, while he alienates one of the few 'friends' Chickenhawk Georgie has left.
If Tony Blair was a poodle with cojones instead of a neutered bitch, he would ask Chickenhawk Georgie to leave and pull his troops out today.
YOu have to burn the hooch down to save the village, don't you know? We have just exchanged our Zippos for Abrams.
At least 15 homes have been destroyed in Tikrit as part of what has been dubbed Operation Ivy Cyclone Two.
At least they didn't call it Operation Ivy Cyclon B.
Operation Ivy Wejustsignedourowndeathwarrantasfarasmuslimextremistsareconcerned is in full effect, BOoyEEE!
Hasn't there been any instruction on how to counter-act a guerilla insurgency? I can see where chicken-hawk politicians want to target civilian institutions, but shouldn’t the military know better?
Can you say "Dresden II" kiddies?
Sure you can.
It was only a matter of time until the neocons threw off any pretense of having a different strategy from Sharon. The strategy has been consistent, now the tactics are converging, too.
We do not need candidates to promise to hand over war criminals. Simply campaigning that adopting the World Court as binding on America as part of bridging the gap between us and the Europeans that alows for NATO participation. Whether or not Rummy gets sent need not be addressed. The implicit threat need not be expressed in a campaign. It offers an oportunity to further expose W by pointing out that previous administrations managed to send war crimonals to the Hague for war crimes without destroying Serbia, Bosnia and other countries. Of course, Charles Taylor seems to have escaped with American complicity.
Finally, why can't parallels be drawn between the attack on WTC and the attack on innocent civilians in Tikrit? This is terror and that is why it is illegal in international war.
Tonight I weep again for my country.
Last phrase should be international law, not international war, though it is arguably OK as is.
Great to see the Whiskey Bar’s open tonight after being dark for a couple of nights.
Feeling sadness bordering on grief. The US has lost the War in Iraq.
There simply are not enough troops to pacify the Sunni Triangle. Let alone, moving the green zone around Bagdad Airport from 2 miles to 5 miles to end the spiral combat landings. The blowing up of houses just reinforces to all Iraqi males that they must fight the Infidel Invaders. The insurgents now have an ocean of 1.3 billion Muslims to swim in. I can’t tell the difference between the IDF in the West Bank and the Ivy Division in Tikrit nor can Middle East Muslims.
The neo-cons and evangelists have cleaned the Army of all the Viet Nam Lieutenants and Captains. All that left are the ass kissers. The only enjoyment I’ve had was watching Wes Clark kick the simpering Fox News anchor’s butt.
It is sad. The US is going to have to fight a cultural war with the neo-cons, evangelists and their media sponsors. Next year could be the start of Civil War II.
The US has been operating the School of the Americas-- for what, 50+ years now?-- specifically for teaching counterinsurgency tactics. One would think they'd gotten pretty good at it by now.
How is it we can teach counterinsurgency to the Columbians but not to the 3rd ID?
Because Johnny GI might come home from Iraq and tell somebody about how he murdered clerics and journalists in cold blood to stop their support of the insurgents.
You use proxies for that sort of thing, so you're own troops don't spread the bad word back home, a la Soviet veterans of Afghanistan.
Radish:
Thanks for the insite. If we have chickenhawks in charge of a bunch of ass-kissers, then we are truly fucked. The tin-foil hat part of me says that they want to screw-up in Iraq so that they can start WWIV with the Arabs. 1.3 billion vs. .28 billion. Not good odds on our end.
The only up-side I can see is the ire of all of those generals that were forced to retire. One even joined the Dean campaign today and another is running for President. Hope is not a plan, however.
There were 10 people tonight on PBS Newshour that were mentioned as dead. The number keeps going up. We getting more one body a day now. in another 6 months we'll most likely have a thousand dead...and several thousand injured as well as several thousand dead Iraqis.
This stuff is making more and more terrorist. Bush is never going to leave with any sense of success and still folks here in Arizona-56% think the war is worth it even though that national average shows a majority do not think the war was a good idea.
We sure have a lot of dead troopers but I think Arizona's oldtimers just forget em.
I don't know how Bush is planning to cut and run because with the tactics mentioned about - we are making more enemies than Iraq troopers members I'm sure.
Mr. Bush,
Please let us in on the joke.
You guys are so quaint. The Geneva Convention and the Bill of Rights went out the door two years ago, didn'tcha hear? And everyone's clinging to these documents and getting all huffy about it like we haven't effectively rendered them null and void. Let's just stipulate to that and move on.
BTW, this is NOT the first time we've done this sort of thing. This audio clip report from NPR was broadcast back in late October. Apparently, our troops arrested the mothers of suspected attackers in Iraq and held them until they fessed up the whereabout of their kids. It was pretty big news all over Arab press back then. We barely heard a peep about it out here. And they take Moms a lot more seriously than empty buildings...
That's why I have no doubt these orders came from the top -- from Sanchez or Abizaid, at least -- and more likely from the civilian side of the Pentagon, if not higher. This is policy, not a personal vendetta.
I agree. This is why the Bush administration is actively sabotaging the International Criminal Court. They object particularly to the possibility of American military personnel being prosecuted for crimes against humanity.
Foolish US. The Geneva Convention protected US personnel in Korea.
That's why I have no doubt these orders came from the top -- from Sanchez or Abizaid, at least -- and more likely from the civilian side of the Pentagon, if not higher
Definitely, and they are coming down from the civilian side of the Pentagon.
Very glad to see you back, Billmon.
Sabbatical shmabbatical, eh? Well, I'm glad, but only out of selfishness.
This reminds me of that Monty Python sketch, "How Not to Be Seen." The narrator starts blowing up everything to get the guys in hiding. "And here is the neighbor who told us where they were" (boom!) "And this is where he lived." (boom!) "And this is where Lord Langdon lived who refused to speak to us." (boom!)
Oh, and go read healingiraq.blogspot.com and see all the war supporters (in the comments) shouting their approval for wholesale massacres.
Cheryl,
There are already 9,000 injured from Iraq. We're talking more than 1,000 a month.
I take a different tact. It's neither a feud nor Israeli-style punishment. It's the incompetance of the 4ID and it's commanders. They don't know what to do, so they smack the locals around. Each division has very different methods of dealing with the locals.
I wonder if we are missing the point here.
Let's not forget the "flypaper" theory. One has to wonder what purpose could be served by increasing the US death count in Iraq, and of course the orders-of-magnitude greater number of civilian deaths and subsequent outrage, and the obvious mistakes made in attempting to complete a successful regime change.
Perhaps there are wheels within wheels and the blame that may cascade from these problems with pacifying the conquered country may be planned or merely acceptable. Are the future scapegoats merely pawns, collateral damage or part of a greater plan.
It is possible that this is simple incompetence, but it is worth looking at who profits under an increasingly violent middle east -- clearly US and international arms manufacturers and outfitters including the civilian companies who supply, cook and build the barracks.
I am interested in hearing other opinions about the deeper motives at work here.
Look, blowing up empty buildings means that the companies that produce the ammunition that the US armed forces use can make a lot of money. And that means jobs. And that means a stronger US economy.
So if you're against blowing up empty buildings, then you're clearly against a stronger US economy. And hence, you're clearly objectively pro-terrorist.
Actually, to be a little more serious, I wonder if part of the plan here isn't to kick ass in Tikrit while playing a little softer in Baghdad and see which approach draws the most domestic approval. If Joe Sixpack cheers the fireworks, we expand our use of the Lott doctrine; if he protests, we hang Col. Hickey out to dry.
Same thing with the mixed message on troop withdrawals.
Skinny, thanks for your response.
You are assuming the only goal is to re-elect George W. Bush as President.
The coming election has some implications, but things that happen today will persist after the election, whoever is elected.
Are there other implications?
We are now seeing the merger of the American and Israeli policies in the War on Iraq, a logical outgrowth of what the PNAC plan intended.The PNAC plan, hatched by the Israeli fifth column in our midst ( Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith,etc.) coopted the megalomaniacs Cheney and Rumsfeld,were joined by the religious fundies like Robertson and Falwell
and, lastly by the stepin fetchits Powell and Rice
was to transform American foreign policy into an
instrument of Israeli foreign policy.This aim has already been acheived. All that remains now is to use Israeli methods to put down and demonize Arabs all across the Middle East.Blasting homes
is the well known Israeli method.It will be followed by more brutal methods and end up either in concentration camps or in ethnic cleansing.
Our favorite man in the PNAC hat, Wolfie, has even plans for the " unmanageable" Arabs in the form of Gene Warfare which he proposes to examine with his buddy in crime, Bill Kristol.
This procession in the bizarro world,as you call it, Billmon, can only be explained by Terminal Madness.The world, as we have known it, is coming
apart at its seams.
Great post!