Any Decent Republicans Out There?

I thought you were a legal eagle Dave, so I'm sure you're aware of International law, maybe not.

The Security Council voted against the war in 2003 so under the UN Charter that made going to war in Iraq illegal.

If there's no law against war and invading other countries was legal then what was Desert Storm all about.
I mean if it wasn't illegal for Saddam to invade Kuwait, why did we bother with Desert Storm.

You're awfully fond of snide remarks, aren't you?

You appear to be a UN-bootlicker.

Aren't you satisfied that the UN Security Council authorized the use of force against Iraq?

By Marjorie Cohn
Afghanistan: The Other Illegal War

The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan was every bit as illegal as the invasion of Iraq. Why, then, do so many Americans see it as justifiable?

...

The U.N. Charter provides that all member states must settle their international disputes by peaceful means, and no nation can use military force except in self-defense or when authorized by the Security Council. After the 9/11 attacks, the council passed two resolutions, neither of which authorized the use of military force in Afghanistan. Resolutions 1368 and 1373 condemned the Sept. 11 attacks and ordered the freezing of assets; the criminalizing of terrorist activity; the prevention of the commission of and support for terrorist attacks; and the taking of necessary steps to prevent the commission of terrorist activity, including the sharing of information. In addition, it urged ratification and enforcement of the international conventions against terrorism.

The invasion of Afghanistan was not legitimate self-defense under article 51 of the charter because the attacks on Sept. 11 were criminal attacks, not "armed attacks" by another country. Afghanistan did not attack the United States. In fact, 15 of the 19 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, there was not an imminent threat of an armed attack on the United States after Sept. 11, or Bush would not have waited three weeks before initiating his October 2001 bombing campaign. The necessity for self-defense must be "instant, overwhelming, leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation." This classic principle of self-defense in international law has been affirmed by the Nuremberg Tribunal and the U.N. General Assembly.

Bush's justification for attacking Afghanistan was that it was harboring Osama bin Laden and training terrorists. Iranians could have made the same argument to attack the United States after they overthrew the vicious Shah Reza Pahlavi in 1979 and he was given safe haven in the United States. The people in Latin American countries whose dictators were trained in torture techniques at the School of the Americas could likewise have attacked the torture training facility in Fort Benning, Ga., under that specious rationale. Those who conspired to hijack airplanes and kill thousands of people on 9/11 are guilty of crimes against humanity. They must be identified and brought to justice in accordance with the law. But retaliation by invading Afghanistan is not the answer and will only lead to the deaths of more of our troops and Afghans.

http://www.alternet.org/story/93473/afghanistan%3A_the_other_illegal_war

Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law [Paperback]

Book Description
Marjorie Cohn offers a penetrating analysis of the six most important ways in which the Bush administration weakened the rule of law. Cohn, a respected legal scholar, details the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, the policy of torture, war crimes, Guantanamo's kangaroo courts, unconstitutional laws, and the unlawful surveillance of American citizens. She concludes with practical ways to strengthen the rule of law domestically and internationally, including both political and legal remedies.


Review
Marjorie Cohn's Cowboy Republic is a passionate and compelling indictment of the Bush administration's often blatant disregard of both constitutional and international law. It s also an important cautionary tale about the perils that can befall a democracy when the arrogance of power outstrips the reasoned constraints of the law. --Geoffrey Stone, University of Chicago Law School

Marjorie Cohn has always been good at explaining how powerful elected officials violate our democratic rights. Cowboy Republic is her best effort yet. From an illegal aggressive war in Iraq to torture, here it all is--the six major ways the Bush administration has made America an outlaw state. --Michael Ratner, Center for Constitutional Rights

This devastating, utterly compelling account of the crimes and usurpations of the Bush administration will convince all but the perpetrators themselves of the urgent need not only for investigations and prompt impeachments, but also for criminal prosecutions. --Daniel Ellsberg, author of Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers

http://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Republic-Ways-Bush-Defied/dp/0977825337/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246914398&sr=8-2

Bradley Manning's Legal Duty to Expose War Crimes
Monday, 03 June 2013 09:29
By Marjorie Cohn, Truthout

...

The court-martial of Bradley Manning, the most significant whistleblower case since Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, has begun. Although Manning pled guilty earlier this year to 10 offenses that will garner him 20 years in custody, military prosecutors insist on pursuing charges of aiding the enemy and violation of the Espionage Act, carrying life in prison. The Obama administration, which has prosecuted more whistleblowers under the Espionage Act than all prior presidencies combined, seeks to send a strong message to would-be whistleblowers to keep their mouths shut.

A legal duty to report war crimes
Manning is charged with crimes for sending hundreds of thousands of classified files, documents and videos, including the "Collateral Murder" video, the "Iraq War Logs," the "Afghan War Logs" and State Department cables to Wikileaks. Many of the things he transmitted contain evidence of war crimes.
The "Collateral Murder" video depicts a US Apache attack helicopter killing 12 civilians and wounding two children on the ground in Baghdad in 2007. The helicopter then fired on and killed the people trying to rescue the wounded. Finally, a US tank drove over one of the bodies, cutting the man in half. These acts constitute three separate war crimes.

Manning fulfilled his legal duty to report war crimes. He complied with his legal duty to obey lawful orders but also his legal duty to disobey unlawful orders.

Section 499 of the Army Field Manual states, "Every violation of the law of war is a war crime." The law of war is contained in the Geneva Conventions.
Article 85 of the First Protocol to the Geneva Conventions describes making the civilian population or individual civilians the object of attack as a grave breach.

The firing on and killing of civilians shown in the "Collateral Murder" video violated this provision of Geneva.

Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions requires that the wounded be collected and cared for. Article 17 of the First Protocol states that the civilian population "shall be permitted, even on their own initiative, to collect and care for the wounded." That article also says, "No one shall be harmed . . . for such humanitarian acts." The firing on rescuers portrayed in the "Collateral Murder" video violates these provisions of Geneva.
Finally, Section 27-10 of the Army Field Manual states that "maltreatment of dead bodies" is a war crime. When the Army jeep drove over the dead body, it violated this provision.

Enshrined in the US Army Subject Schedule No. 27-1 is "the obligation to report all violations of the law of war." At his guilty plea hearing, Manning explained that he had gone to his chain of command and asked them to investigate the "Collateral Murder" video and other "war porn," but his superiors refused. "I was disturbed by the response to injured children," Manning stated. He was also bothered by the soldiers depicted in the video who "seemed to not value human life by referring to [their targets] as 'dead bastards.' "

The Uniform Code of Military Justice sets forth the duty of a service member to obey lawful orders. But that duty includes the concomitant duty to disobey unlawful orders. An order not to reveal classified information that contains evidence of war crimes would be an unlawful order. Manning had a legal duty to reveal the commission of war crimes.

You're awfully fond of snide remarks, aren't you?

Humour you, I'm sure JTT will fill you in on all that, he probably already has.

The Bush government were a bunch of lying ass holes and anyone who would defend then is lying to themselves if they claim there was good government during his administration.

. . . Have Republicans got a mental block when it comes to hypocrisy, . . .

Seems to be the order of the day around here, doesn't it Thicko?. (sorry couldn't resist.)

You'd never make a snide remark, would you Tico, awfully above all that Eh?.

Have Republicans got a mental block when it comes to hypocrisy, do you not understand it or do you purposely mentally edit it?.

I'm no UN bootlicker, ...

Humour you, I'm sure JTT will fill you in on all that, he probably already has.

You're another legal eagle.
How low has the bar been set on the bar in the US these days. A limbo dancer wouldn't get under it.

(That snide enough for you.)

I'd rather not JTT, what's the point?.

Do you leftists have a block when it comes to realizing some wars must be fought?

I'd rather not JTT, what's the point?.
I just wanted to see if there were any Republicans out there who thought the Iraq war was a crime?.

Again what's the point?.
The legality or illegality of that war is still being disputed.
You know yourself, there are powerful interests out there who can never admit to the Iraq invasion being illegal.

So let me repeat: You said "The Security Council voted against the war in 2003 so under the UN Charter that made going to war in Iraq illegal."

I asked you to identify the UN Security Council resolution where it voted against the war in 2003.

Will you or will you not be accommodating that request?

JTT I'm outta here.
Good luck to you all.

Tell you what let's just leave it at that and agree to disagree eh.
Take care and have a good day.