Statement by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert L. Jackson
Chief U.S. Prosecutor
at the Nuremberg Tribunals
August 12, 1945
on War Trials Agreement; August 12, 1945
There are some things I would like to say, particularly to the American people, about the agreement we have just signed.
For the first time, four of the most powerful nations have agreed not only upon the principles of liability for war crimes of persecution, but also upon the principle of individual responsibility for the crime of attacking the international peace.
Repeatedly, nations have united in abstract declarations that the launching of aggressive war is illegal. They have condemned it by treaty. But now we have the concrete application of these abstractions in a way which ought to make clear to the world that those who lead their nations into aggressive war face individual accountability for such acts.
<snip>
"We must make clear to the Germans that the wrong for which
their fallen leaders are on trial is not that they lost the
war, but that they started it. And we must not allow
ourselves to be drawn into a trial of the causes of the war,
for our position is that no grievances or policies will
justify resort to aggressive war. It is utterly renounced
and condemned as an instrument of policy."
<snip>
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert L. Jackson
Chief U.S. Prosecutor
at the Nuremberg Tribunals
August 12, 1945
READ THE ENTIRE STATEMENT HERE:
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/jack02.htm ----------------------
Marjorie Cohn | Aggressive War: Supreme International Crime
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/110904A.shtml------------------------
The Court at Nuremberg charged the Nazi War criminals with the aggressive invasion of Poland, considering it a war crime.
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/NurembergIndictments.htmlIndictments
Count One: Conspiracy to Wage Aggressive War
This count helped address the crimes committed before the war began, showing a plan to commit crimes during the war.
Count Two: Waging Aggressive War, or "Crimes Against Peace"
Including “the planning, preparation, initiation, and waging of wars of aggression, which were also wars in violation of international treaties, agreements, and assurances.”
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the denial of water to Iraqi civilians = Article 14 war crime
http://www.casi.org.uk/briefings-new.htmlDenial of Water to Iraqi Cities
Water supplies to Tall Afar, Samarra and Fallujah were cut off during US attacks during the past two months, affecting up to 750,000 civilians. This appears to form part of a deliberate US policy of denying water to the residents of cities under attack. If so, it has been adopted without a public debate, and without consulting Coalition partners. It is a serious breach of international humanitarian law, and is deepening Iraqi opposition to the United States, other coalition members, and the Iraqi government.
This briefing outlines the evidence for the denial of water to Iraqi civilians, discusses stated justifications for these tactics, and analyses some of the implications. It calls for the immediate cessation of this tactic, which causes severe and undue suffering to civilians under attack.
Read the full briefing: "DENIAL OF WATER TO IRAQI CITIES"
http://www.casi.org.uk/briefings-new.html-----------------------------------------
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The Unthinkable Becomes Normal (November 15, 2004)
Mainstream media trivialize atrocities such as the slaughter in Fallujah by describing attacks on houses, mosques and innocent civilians as "successful operations against insurgents." John Pilger warns that we must not let the media "normalize the unthinkable," and that we should question the hidden agendas of "democratic governments." (New Statesman)
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/media/2004/1115normal.htm