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America’s justified war?
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news report
Monday March 24, 2003 16:43 by bruno
the US war on Iraq is itself the most fundamental violation of international law. In the language coined at the Nuremberg trials, it is a crime against peace. At their summit in Brussels the deeply divided European Union heads of State and Governments did the only possible thing: they started to plan for the post-war period, underlining their desire to play a constructive role in the region. Washington will welcome this for sure, as the Bush administration’s own ambitions and readiness to really help the people in this region just seem to be words – of propaganda. However, there is one notion that must make us attentive. "This is a justified war", commented the US daily "Sacramento Bee" on Sunday, summarizing a firm belief shared by many people on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, even outside the White House and Downing Street Number 10. The Californian paper continued: "It is justified by past UN resolutions, by it being a continuation of the first Gulf War, justified as an act of self-protection and justified in its rescue of the viciously oppressed Iraqi people." Thomas Aquinas’ six tests From the history of political thought, six tests can be derived for a "justified war", as Alois Riklin has emphasized in the March issue of "Schweizer Monatshefte." 1) Iusta causa– the just cause, 2) Recta intentio – the honest intention, 3) Proportionalitas – the appropriateness of going to war, 4) Legitima auctoritas – the authorization through a legitimate organization, 5) Ultima ratio – war as a last resort, 6) Ius in bello – even in a justified war, certain rules of international law must be respected. Irrespective of your stand on the war up to now, you will come to the same conclusion when testing the six "justified war" criteria against the ongoing battle in the Gulf. 1) Washington has declared war on Iraq in order to prevent Iraq declaring war on America. This is not allowed by international law. What makes Iraq so different? America not only ignores the so-called Geneva Convention on war prisoners and has introduced the principle of preventive war; Washington is also ignoring the UN monopoly on force and confuses containment with appeasement. In other words: America’s war in Iraq is NOT justified. In fact, the US war on Iraq is itself the most fundamental violation of international law. In the language coined at the Nuremberg trials, it is a crime against peace. Former Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, chief U.S. prosecutor at the first Nuremberg trial, called waging aggressive war "the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole". Join the debate BRUNO KAUFMANN – is a peace- and conflict researcher, radio journalist and president of the Initiative & Referendum Institute Europe in Amsterdam. A debate on the democratic prospects in times of warfare will be held at the IRI Europe Barcelona Forum on Friday this week. For more information: www.iri-europe.org. |
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