The famous video that Manning released of civilians including journalists being murdered is only the tiniest example of the war crimes represented by the Iraq War. There have been hundreds of thousands of “excess deaths” caused by the illegal invasion of Iraq by the United States. Without that illegal invasion, those deaths would not have happened. (Saddam’s crimes would have been miniscule by comparison.) And there’s no end in sight. The UN reports that in May 1000 people were killed in the ongoing Iraq Civil War and 2400 wounded.
For all practical purposes, war crimes are only prosecuted through what is termed victor’s justice. Since there is no one to hold the US accountable, its crimes in Iraq will never be punished, and those who report them, like Manning, will be crushed. I saw all of this in the Vietnam War and in various Latin American wars. I left the country 34 years ago. I should have done more, but like most, I am at a loss.
The famous video that Manning released of civilians including journalists being murdered is only the tiniest example of the war crimes represented by the Iraq War. There have been hundreds of thousands of “excess deaths” caused by the illegal invasion of Iraq by the United States. Without that illegal invasion, those deaths would not have happened. (Saddam’s crimes would have been miniscule by comparison.) And there’s no end in sight. The UN reports that in May 1000 people were killed in the ongoing Iraq Civil War and 2400 wounded.
For all practical purposes, war crimes are only prosecuted through what is termed victor’s justice. Since there is no one to hold the US accountable, its crimes in Iraq will never be punished, and those who report them, like Manning, will be crushed. I saw all of this in the Vietnam War and in various Latin American wars. I left the country 34 years ago. I should have done more, but like most, I am at a loss.