James E. Jennings 11 maart 2008 – 15:14

The US military aggression against Iraq of March 19, 2003, together with the subsequent US-led occupation of Iraq, constitute the supreme international crime according to the Nuremburg tribunal. Among other offenses against international humanitarian law, the aggression violated the Charter of the United Nations, and has served to undermine the integrity, status, and value of that vital institution.

Consequently, the President, Vice-President, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of State of the United States are guilty of war crimes and should be indicted and held accountable before an international tribunal.

Those Senators and Members of Congress who abdicated their constitutional responsibilities in voting to allow the US Chief Executive, George W. Bush, to declare war by diktat must be held accountable by the American electorate in whatever domestic forum may be legal, appropriate, and politically achievable.

For the majority of American citizens who supported the illegal and immoral aggression against Iraq, either through malice, ignorance, or fear, the only suitable corrective is that of reasoned discourse and persuasion, coupled with the installation of new leadership that will repudiate the misguided doctrines that led to the war. It is evident that the US will eventually be required to pay large reparations to Iraq.

The willingness of American citizens and their leaders to address this issue will be a measure of the ability of the US body politic to make truth and reconciliation the cornerstone of a more peaceful new world order.

James E. Jennings
PhD, President , Conscience International, Inc., a humanitarian aid and human rights organization working primarily in the Middle East; and Executive Director, US Academics, a group of university professors dedicated to dialogue among civilizations - USA)
www.conscienceinternational.org

Bericht aan de Bevolking is een initiatief van Het beschrijf, in samenwerking met het B/Russell/s Tribunal. Een aantal auteurs van deze teksten treedt ook aan op de Literaire Wake n.a.v. 5 jaar oorlog in Irak, op woensdag 19 maart van 20 u. tot 24 u. in Literatuurhuis Passa Porta, A. Dansaertstraat 46, 1000 Brussel. Zie www.passaporta.be

Link naar het overzicht