Panel to Hear Submissions on Alleged Coalition War Crimes in Iraq

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/oneworld/20030819/wl_oneworld/4536663441061330503&cid=655&ncid=1480

MONTREAL, Aug 19 (IPS) -- Five legal experts will hear submissions in November on whether Britain, Australia and other nations in the coalition that attacked Iraq should be tried for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The independent panel will meet Nov. 8-9 in London and focus on particular events and issues, said Felicity Williams of the U.K.-based group Public Interest Lawyers.

For example, the experts will determine whether the weapons systems the attackers used were legal under international humanitarian law, she told IPS.

”We'll be depending very much on the feedback of the five judges...if they say that these weapons couldn't discriminate between civilian and military targets, and that that was a breach of international law--and there's sufficient evidence to show that--then there's no reason why we won't go ahead to present that evidence to the prosecution at the International Criminal Court,” added Williams.

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[wtmusic]

1. Too bad the US can't be prosecuted

we're not signatory.

You think that MIGHT be intentional?

[arcane1]

2. is this the 'politically motivated' nonsense the Chimp mentioned?

be kind of interesting if the "coalition" members get busted, but we are immune... makes you say Hmmmmmm

[QuietStorm]

3. Pentagon seems to have closed the case on the Palestine Hotel

according to this article

" Other issues likely to be discussed include U.S. soldiers' killings of journalists. On Apr. 8 tank troops shelled the Palestine Hotel, known to house members of the media reporting on the war, killing two journalists.

The same day, a U.S. air strike on Al-Jazeera satellite channel's Baghdad bureau killed a reporter.

Last week, the Pentagon (news - web sites) released a report that concluded the soldiers who attacked the hotel ”properly fired upon a suspected enemy hunter-killer team in a proportionate and justifiably measured response. The action was fully in accordance with the rules of engagement.”

AND THE US USED CLUSTER BOMBS AS WELL

cluster bombs didn't sound so discriminate to me. they sounded somewhat antiquated considering the high tech arsenal we had to choose from with no surety that all would go off on impact and could instead detonate latently. I thought it a very barbaric choice. Not a weapon for a liberation wherein the Iraqi peoples freedom what the rhetoric of the day. Like the use of Fletchette shell in the OT's. The claim is that IDF tries to keep civilian casuality down (we will forget for now about F-16's used against rock throwers), just like cluster bombs the use of fletchette pretty much insures indiscriminate killing with no real aiming on target evident with either choice of weapon.