Why Not Joint War Crimes Trials?? by Jacob G. Hornberger
(2022-04-12 at 01:37:47 )

Why Not Joint War Crimes Trials?? by Jacob G. Hornberger

The United States mainstream media is calling for the criminal prosecution of Russian president Vladimir Putin, as well as Russian military personnel, for war crimes committed as part of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

There is nothing wrong with that. When government officials or military personnel engage in war crimes, they should be prosecuted.

What is weird though is that you do not read any calls in the United States mainstream press for criminal prosecutions of United States officials and United States military personnel for war crimes committed with respect to the United States invasions and long-term occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, including the bombings of many wedding parties in which brides, grooms, bridal assistants, parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, and friends were killed or maimed.

What is up with that???

Would you not think that any United States media outlet that is genuinely concerned about war crimes committed by Russian officials or Russian military personnel would be equally concerned, if not more so, about war crimes committed by United States officials or United States military personnel?

After all, no one can deny that everything that Russia has done in Ukraine, the United States did in Afghanistan and Iraq. Given such, how about having joint war crimes trials - ones in which both Russian and United States officials and military personnel are tried together?

There could be one trial for military and intelligence personnel who are accused of having ordered or committed war crimes. This trial could include Russian generals and intelligence officials as well as Pentagon generals and Central Intelligence Agency officials.

There could be another trial for political officials who knowingly ordered, authorized, or condoned the commission of war crimes. This trial could include President Putin and former president George W. Bush. Both of them ordered invasions of sovereign and independent countries, which ended up killing, maiming, or torturing untold numbers of people, including both troops and civilians. The fact that President Bush failed to secure a congressional declaration of war from Congress, which the United States Constitution requires, could be added to his charges, given that his wars were also illegal under our form of government. ‘

It would be appropriate to include former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump in the dock, given that they continued the military occupations of both Afghanistan and Iraq, during which many more people were killed, maimed, or tortured, not to mention the massive destruction of property resulting from both occupations.

President Clinton should not escape criminal liability for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children - yes, children! - that he killed with his brutal systems of economic sanctions on Iraq during the eight years he was president. Added to Bill Clintons charges could be his deadly and destructive undeclared war in Yugoslavia.

President Biden himself could be joined as a criminal defendant, given all the people who have been murdered through state-sponsored assassinations at the hands of the CIA and the Pentagon during his term in office. There is also the United States governments role in the massive death toll in Yemen while President Biden has been president.

All of the accused war criminals could be tried under principles of due process of law and trial by jury. The jury, of course, could not consist of either American or Russian citizens or citizens of nations that are aligned with the United States or Russia. But it would not be difficult to find an independent and honest judge and conscientious foreign citizens to serve as jurors. An international war crimes trial in Switzerland would be a good possibility.

If we are going to have criminal prosecutions for war crimes, let us do it right. Let us prosecute all accused war criminals, both Russian and American. Why should we give a pass to any of them??

Reprinted here with permission from Mr. Jacob G. Hornberger of The Future of Freedom Foundation!! Their Libertarian Website!!