 |
New US Rules of Engagement OK Killing Civilians |
|
By
Stephen Lendman |
| They’re like the old rules. Civilian lives don’t matter.
Slaughtering them indiscriminately is longstanding US policy. More on
this below. Fourth Geneva protects civilians and non-military targets in times of war. Attacking them is strictly prohibited. Humanitarian protections are mandated. Washington rules override inviolable international, constitutional and US statute laws. US wars mostly kill civilians, notably post-9/11. Millions perished from willful attacks, being in harm’s way, or from war related violence, preventable diseases or deprivation. Washington considers noncombatants legitimate targets, defying international law and its own unaccountably. During the 2003 Iraq war, US rules of engagement (ROE) authorized field commanders to kill every military-aged Iraqi in sight. Cold-blooded murder was officially OK’d. Yet US Army Field Manual 27-10, incorporating Nuremberg Principles and the 1956 Law of Land Warfare, states any person, military or civilian, who commits a crime under international law is responsible for it and may be punished. The defense of obeying superior orders is inadmissible. Provisions apply to all US military and civilian personnel to the highest levels - including the president, defense secretary and joint chiefs of staff. On the phony pretext of combating ISIS, US foot soldiers America created and supports, the Pentagon directed General Sean MacFarland, heading US operations in Syria and Iraq, to strike targets where large numbers of civilians may be killed. Their lives, safety and welfare don’t matter. Slaughtering noncombatants is OK on the pretext of waging phony war on terrorism. US wars OF terrorism ravage and destroy one country after another, endless savagery on an unprecedented scale - killing millions of Afghans and Iraqis alone, millions more in other US war theaters, an imperial holocaust media scoundrels ignore and suppress. The Pentagon willfully lies, claiming great lengths are taken to avoid killing civilians. Terror-bombing slaughters them indiscriminately. US special forces and other combat troops on the ground kill civilians with impunity. Claiming otherwise if one of many Big Lies about US wars - in all cases, naked aggression against countries threatening no others. US air and ground forces operating in Syrian and Iraq aid ISIS and other terrorist fighters. Civilians in harm’s way have no place to hide, slaughtered to advance America’s imperium. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. |
| Donate to Rense.com Support Free & Honest Journalism At Rense.com | Subscribe To RenseRadio! Enormous Online Archives, MP3s, Streaming Audio Files, Highest Quality Live Programs |