War Crimes Are US
It is not right, my fellow-countrymen, you who know very well all the crimes committed in our name. It's not at all right that you do not breathe a word about them to anyone, not even to your own soul, for fear of having to stand in judgment of yourself. I am willing to believe that at the beginning you did not realize what was happening; later, you doubted whether such things could be true; but now you know, and still you hold your tongues. —Jean Paul Sartre
In the late 90s, the world community pulled together to design and institute the International Criminal Court (ICC). The goal was to form "the first permanent international judicial body capable of trying individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes."
Despite the worthy intentions of the ICC, one of Bush's first acts upon taking office was to announce that the US would not be part of the ICC. The President's objections were summed up in a Cato Institute report from 1998:
The court threatens to diminish America's sovereignty, produce arbitrary and highly politicized "justice," and grow into a jurisdictional leviathan. Already some supporters of the proposed court want to give it the authority to prosecute drug trafficking as well as such vague offenses as "serious threats to the environment" and "committing outrages on personal dignity."
The main objection was that Americans should never be subject to the prosecutorial whims of foreigners. Though we—as global dominator—have the right to criticize any other nation and take any actions against others that we deem reasonable, including invasion and regime change, we cannot allow even mildly reciprocal treatment.
Saddam Hussein on public trial for his crimes—yes! Donald Rumsfeld on trial for abetting Saddam in his crimes—how unamerican!!
A thousand quasi-terrorists locked up in Guantanamo, held without legal representation for years and mistreated in shameful ways, simply because the US government decides they might be criminals—yes! American soldiers and their misleaders held accountable when they kill innocent civilians—never!!
One clear war crime that American rulers should be held accountable for is the use of cluster bombs:
Under Article 85 of the Geneva Conventions, it is a war crime to launch "an indiscriminate attack affecting the civilian population in the knowledge that such an attack will cause an excessive loss of life or injury to civilians." Under the Hague Conventions, Article 22 and 23, "The right of belligerents to adopt means of injuring the enemy is not unlimited," and "It is especially forbidden to kill treacherously individuals belonging to the hostile nation or army."
Cluster bombs remain unexploded in large numbers wherever they're deployed. Long after armed conflicts have ended, cluster bombs go on killing and maiming civilians, especially children. Human Rights Watch reports, for instance, that 1600 Kuwaiti and Iraqi civilians have been killed by cluster bombs since the end of the first Iraq war.
Sixteen hundred civilians, mostly children, dead, and many more maimed, because of a military tactic that Americans used despite international condemnation. And that's just from one of our dirty little wars. We've left a similar legacy of civilian-murder in Bosnia, Afghanistan, and most recently Lebanon (via the Israeli military).
Before the invasion of Iraq, Human Rights Watch called for a moratorium on the use of cluster bombs. Human Rights director Steve Close predicted that "Iraqi civilians will be paying the price with their lives and limbs for many years." A U.N. weapons commission described cluster bombs as "weapons of indiscriminate effects."
In defiance of U.N. reports, Air Force studies, and repeated warnings from Human Rights Watch, Rumsfeld reauthorized the expanded use of cluster bombs with full knowledge of their indiscriminate and treacherous results.
War crimes. In our name. For as long as we allow criminals like Bush and Cheney to stay in power, America holds a primary position in the global axis of evil.
Impeachment now: to clear America's good name; to hold the truly wicked responsible; to send a clear message to future presidents.