Immunity for'coalition forces'
I would like to know the opinion of Iraqis and Americans alike on this subject . Do you really think the troops should be immune from prosecutions after all the abuse they have dished out to Iraqis?
I have noticed that this is a trend with the US, it never signs any treaties, and always wants to be above the law. Whilst I appreciate that each governement should do what is best for its own people, I would also like that this right be granted to all the other countries . For example Serbian troops should get immunity, German troops should have gotten immunity, Chechen fighters should get immunity, etc.. I mean they each want what they believe is best for them. I don't see why do the double standards apply. The Law should apply to everyone . Iraqi troops should have been granted immunity for occupying Kuwait. Palestinian and Israelis armies should also enjoy the same privilege....
In this article the most important bit of info for me is the following about death records in Iraq :
"Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw admitted that no-one knew for sure how many Iraqis had been killed since the coalition's invasion last year.
It is odd that coalition forces have not kept consistent records about estimates of people in Iraq who have been killed
Jack Straw
He claimed it was "extremely difficult" to keep track of those killed, although he knew it was about 10,000 people three months ago.
"In a more perfect world there ought to have been estimates kept," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Mr Straw suggested that the US had not kept note of who had died since the occupation of Iraq began in March last year, but he insisted the British had tried to keep a record. "
Isn't it odd that while every single American and British soldier contractor,mercenary or civilian has a name and when we end being drowned by the western media with data about his/her past , family, kids , high school records and even favourite teddy bear.. Our own dead are not even counted let alone named unless they hold some kind of official or semi-official function such as IGC members or Hamas or Hizbollah or whatever terrorists killed by IDF.
close encounters with some dirt for Bush : How lucky can you get only cuts and grazes instead of breaking his neck ;) God must really be 'talking' to this guy ....
2 comments:
Dear Highlander
"Immunity for'coalition forces' I would like to know the opinion of Iraqis and Americans" - sorry for not belonging to any of the groups, but it seems to be the way the world works. No power makes it's man subject to authority of an ally, whose power is much inferior and commitment to declared common cause questionable. It would be funny to see the Iraqi govenment to have more control over US military then it has over militias and tribes.
As to the other countries you have mentioned, (almost) everyone has (had) the same type of immunity from prosecution by the local authorities.
I do not have exact references, but believe that Germans were pretty much immune to the authority of the French or Italian administrations when they operated in North Africa. As to Chechen warlords - they have been quite immune from the prosecution by Mashadov administration. Russian troops now in Checehya are (in effect) immune from prosecution by local courts as well.
I do not see present Palestine/Israel situation similar to US/Iraq one, since there is no "stronger ally with military force vs weaker ally with formal judical control" conflict.
BTW. Do you have references on the legal status of Egyptian military in Gaza, Transjordans in the West Bank or Syrians in Lebanon?
PS. Immunity of military to its own national or international law is another matter.
PPS. test: ัะตัั
You will find that misdeeds committed by U.S. forces do not go unpunished if the guilty party is caught. Neither the American public nor the American government nor the American military tolerate crimes committed by soldiers while in another country.
The reason for this is that the U.S. and its people find no pleasure in wronging people of other countries. It is against our principles and we severely punish those who violate the principles they are expected to uphold.
Those who view the U.S. through a lens of hate will, no doubt, disagree with the above. They have been brainwashed to the point that nothing I or anyone else can say will matter.
A legitimate disagreement, however, might be the type of punishment a U.S. soldier might receive compared to the punishment that might be proscribed by the culture in which the crime was committed.
Punishment by the U.S. government or military for theft may be rather mild when compared to the punishment that would be meted out in some cultures, for example. Also. some acts are considered criminal in some cultures while perfectly acceptable in the U.S. (e.g., religious proselytizing).
I make no apology for the American system of justice. It usually works well and protects the innocent while punishing the guilty.
HB
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