It is for
each generation to exercise conscientious diligence in sustaining those guiding
principles. Sadly -- tragically --,
those who were to have represented our interests in Washington, particularly
during these past ten years, have severely undermined those principles. And we, the people, have not sufficiently
spoken out and acted to return our nation to the principled course set by the
Founders. But we can -- if only we will.
* * * *
After World
War II, the U.S. and its allies prosecuted and convicted Germans for war crimes
and crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg Tribunal. The chief prosecutor was United States
Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson. He
made it clear that aggressive war -- that is, a military attack by an aggressor
nation against a nation that has not attacked, and is not preparing to attack
the aggressor nation -- is a crime, as reflected in a treaty to which the
United States is a signatory, the Kellogg-Briand Pact. He emphasized that if the criminal
prohibition against war is to have any meaning, it must be applied to all
nations, including, as he said, those sitting in judgment at Nuremberg.
The
illegality of aggressive war has been reinforced by the U.N. Charter, which expressly
prohibits a military attack by one nation against another unless the target
nation has itself illegally attacked, or was about to illegally attack, the
other nation.
Instead of
continuing the proud tradition of the Nuremberg principles, and complying with
the Kellogg-Briand Pact and the United Nations Charter, the United States,
during the Bush administration, engaged in the blatantly criminal act of
invading and forcibly occupying Iraq, a nation that posed no risk of harm
whatsoever to the United States. It was
the sort of crime for which people were tried and convicted at Nuremberg. Two Secretaries-General of the United
Nations, Kofi Annan and Boutros Boutros-Ghali,
agreed it was a clear violation of international law -- yet no one has
been held to account.
Making
illegal war is the most serious crime because it purports to legalize mass
murder, severe injuries, mass property destruction, and societal mayhem. Compounding this most serious crime in our
invasion and occupation of Iraq, it was committed in blatant violation of the
War Power Clause of the United States Constitution, which provides that
Congress has the sole prerogative to decide whether to take our nation
to war.
Congress
cannot avoid its highest responsibility
by unconstitutionally delegating to the President the authority to make the
decision. However, that is exactly what
Congress, in cowardly derogation of its constitutional duties, has sought to do
repeatedly.
President
Johnson lied to our nation about Vietnam in order to get Congress to allow him
to make the decision as to whether we should make war against the North
Vietnamese. Likewise, President Bush
lied to our nation about Iraq in order to get Congress to pass the resolution
allowing him to decide whether to make war against that nation, which had no
involvement whatsoever in the attacks on 9/11.
Our nation was deceived -- and we were betrayed -- all at an astounding
cost in lives, tragedy, and national treasure.
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
10
6
5
