Will American war crimes be revealed? (Salon)

[kpete]

Will American war crimes be revealed?
Like Vietnam vets did decades ago, a group of soldiers are poised to speak out about atrocities they say the U.S. committed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

By Mark Benjamin


March 13, 2008 | "It has often been remarked but seldom remembered that war itself is a crime. Yet a war crime is more and other than war ... It is an act beyond the pale of acceptable actions even in war. Deliberate killing or torturing of prisoners of war is a war crime. Deliberate destruction without military purpose of civilian communities is a war crime."

-- Former infantry platoon leader William Crandell opening the "Winter Soldier Investigation" in Detroit, Jan. 31, 1971

More than 100 veterans gathered in a Detroit hotel in early 1971 to talk about things they had seen and done in the Vietnam War. Called the Winter Soldier Investigation, the group spoke about a horrifying array of allegations: convoys driving over civilians; burning of villages; bodies thrown out of helicopters; torture, mutilation and infamous "free-fire zones," where anyone not wearing a U.S. uniform could be killed.

Thirty-seven years later, more than 100 veterans will gather over the next several days for "Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan." The event is designed to be another purging of the horrors of war, and another effort to put American military policy on trial in the public eye. The gathering this time, at the National Labor College outside Washington, D.C., is sponsored by the group Iraq Veterans Against the War. "Soldiers will certainly be testifying about their experience and observation of actions which are absolutely in violation of international law," says IVAW spokesperson Perry O"Brien, who served as an Army medic in Afghanistan in 2003.

In interviews with Salon, several veterans from the group described incidents in Iraq that they believed constituted wrongdoing by the U.S. military, including disproportionate use of air power resulting in civilian deaths. The soldiers were unable to provide Salon with any conclusive evidence of war crimes. But as the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq approaches, the allegations they and other Winter Soldier members will publicize in Washington this week add to a long-term set of questions about the damage and destruction wrought by U.S. military operations over years of war.

more at:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/03/13/winter_soldier/

[ixion]

1. they've already been revealed... the question is, will justice be done

or, will the war criminals be tried for their war crimes.

[mamre11]

2. That's impressive

I am really impressed that soldiers and veterans would be willing to come forward and talk about it. That will be crucial to their own closure as well as the unearthing or all of the unseen things done in the name of "freedom." I always question a fight for freedom which involves secretive torture and unknown enemies.

[Winterblues]

3. IMO what is more impressive is these are all "volunteers"

During Vietnam a very large portion were draftees. It is far more understandable for a draftee to have complaints than for a volunteer. just my $.02 worth :shrug:

[2 Much Tribulation]

4. K&R

[Hissyspit]

5. Streaming Video of Winter Soldier 2008 Is Here:

http://ivaw.org

You need Quicktime.

Info on how to get the streaming video to work here: http://ivaw.org/wintersoldier/live/test