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Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Milosebush

Robert Parry points out that, in addition to the obvious war crime of aggressive war, aWol's lies and propaganda have contributed to the atmosphere that makes atrocities like Haditha possible--a crime for which others have been tried:
Milosevic's violent rhetoric and deceptive propaganda were two factors cited in his indictment. One count alleged that the fiery Serb leader "controlled, manipulated or otherwise utilized Serbian state-run media to spread exaggerated and false messages of ethnically based attacks by Bosnian Muslims and Croats against Serb people intended to create an atmosphere of fear and hatred among Serbs."

In Bush's Iraq case, his legal responsibility is parallel though the facts are far from identical.
...
As a result of Bush’s incessant propaganda, a poll of 944 U.S. military personnel in Iraq--taken in January and February 2006--found that 85 percent believed the U.S. mission in Iraq was mainly "to retaliate for Saddam's role in the 9/11 attacks." Seventy-seven percent said a chief war goal was "to stop Saddam from protecting al-Qaeda in Iraq."
...
Bush's rhetorical excesses, though primarily designed to build and maintain a political consensus behind the war at home, had the predictable effect of turning loose a thoroughly propagandized and heavily armed U.S. military force on the Iraqi population.

Pumped-up by Bush's false claims linking Iraq to 9/11 and his later warnings about al-Qaeda's scheme for a global terrorist empire, U.S. soldiers have charged into Iraqi towns and cities with revenge on their minds.
Of course, massacres and other atrocities ALWAYS happen in wars, which is one of many reasons why wars shouldn't be started. Those who willingly start wars are the worst criminals on earth, guilty of thousands of counts of murder, assault and battery, treason, theft, perjury, wanton destruction of property, and pretty much every other crime on the books.