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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 2/22/12

With Mass Child Freezing Deaths, Proof of Mass Starvation, US in Violation of Geneva in Afghanistan

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A little known aspect of World War II history is that immediately after the end of major hostilities, as Europe lay in ruins, millions of Germans in Ally-occupied Germany and people in other Axis nations descended into a spiral of humanitarian crisis, and faced the specter of mass starvation as Allies bickered over the spoils of war.  After a particularly harsh winter in 1946 - 1947, Assistant Secretary of State William Clayton reported to Washington that "millions of people are slowly starving."  With the infrastructure ruined, and with a shortage of coal, many Germans froze to death.

Finally President Harry Truman was persuaded by General George Marshall to implement the Marshall Plan, by which million of tons in assistance was delivered to populations by the Allies.  Marshall warned that "The patient is sinking while the doctors deliberate."  Truman understood that there would be no more fertile ground for left-leaning ideologies to take hold than in populations which were cold, hungry, and hopeless.  In 1949, at the Fourth Geneva Convention, the responsibilities of an "occupying power" were recognized as a part of international law, to remain in effect as long as the occupier was the true and final authority in the client country, regardless of the nominal existence of a new, indigenous national government.

Article 55 of the Geneva Conventions states:

"To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate...."

Article 59:

"If the whole or part of the population of an occupied territory is inadequately supplied, the Occupying Power shall agree to relief schemes on behalf of the said population, and shall facilitate them by all the means at its disposal.  Such schemes, which may be undertaken either by States or by impartial humanitarian organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, shall consist, in particular, of the provision of consignments of foodstuffs, medical supplies and clothing."

And Article 60 insured that even if civilian relief efforts are underway:

"Relief consignments shall in no way relieve the Occupying Power of any of its responsibilities under Articles 55, 56 and 59."

As for what constitutes an "occupying power," according to Amnesty International, "The sole criterion for deciding the applicability of the law":

...is drawn from facts: the de facto effective control of territory by foreign armed forces coupled with the possibility to enforce their decisions, and the de facto absence of a national governmental authority in effective control...Even though the objective of the military campaign may not be to control territory, the sole presence of such forces in a controlling position renders applicable the law protecting the inhabitants. The occupying power cannot avoid its responsibilities as long as a national government is not in a position to carry out its normal tasks."

Amnesty elaborates that an occupation:

"takes effect as soon as the armed forces of a foreign power have secured effective control over a territory that is not its own. It ends when the occupying forces have relinquished their control over that territory."

US forces in Afghanistan, willing and able to arrest Afghan nationals and imprison them as well as back all decisions with military force, clearly meets the definition of an "occupying power" according to international law.  By 1950 the number of US occupation troops in Germany was about 100,000, roughly the same number in Afghanistan now.

A crucial component of Article 55 would obviously be "To the fullest extent of the means available to it..."   Some argue, not altogether convincingly, that in remote areas of Afghanistan where starvation is prevalent, the US lacks the means to meet the food and basic survival requirements of the occupied population.  Mountain passes are snowed in for a good part of the year, and high altitudes and bad weather make airlift difficult.  In Ghazni and other remote provinces it is not unusual to hear reports that villages have been reduced to eating grass, and lose many members over the course of winter.  

But it is in the Kabul refugee camps, in the most secure area of the country with constant NATO activity in and around it, where at least 23 children have been reported by the New York Times to have frozen to death since Jan. 15th, due to lack of simple items such as blankets, warm clothes, food, and fuel for heating the tents and mud huts that are now home to approximately 35,000 Afghans.  The winter which has hit Kabul is the coldest in 20 years.

Millions of tons of commodities and cargo destined for US military bases pass through and around Kabul regularly.  Rep. John Tierney in his subcommittee's report "Warlord, Inc." reveals the enormous extent of the volume of goods paid for with US tax dollars which cross the country daily in 200 and 300-truck convoys, comprising the material deemed necessary to sustain the military occupation.  

Rep. Tierney's Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs reports in "Warlord, Inc" that supply missions in Afghanistan consist of:

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Ralph Lopez majored in Economics and Political Science at Yale University. He writes for Truth Out, Alternet, Consortium News, Op-Ed News, and other Internet media. He reported from Afghanistan in 2009 and produced a short documentary film on (more...)
 

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