UK cluster bombs may be war crime

[psychopomp]

It is a few hours beyond the deadline to qualify as LBN.

The current administration saw this coming and ducked by refusing to join the International Criminal Court:

Reuters UK
UK cluster bombs may be war crime
Tue 20 January, 2004 21:48



By Peter Apps

LONDON (Reuters) - British use of cluster bombs in the Iraq war could count as a war crime and justifies further investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor in the Hague, a group of international lawyers say.

Seven academics from Britain, Ireland, France and Canada interviewed eyewitnesses and examined evidence to see if there was a case for referring British conduct to the court, said the pressure group Peacerights, which organised the review.

"There is a considerable amount of evidence of disproportionate use of force causing civilian casualties," one of the lawyers, Professor Bill Bowring of London Metropolitan University, told a news conference on Tuesday.

"The U.S. cannot be tried before the court because it refuses to sign up to it. The UK did."

edit: more from the article
"THIS ONE GOES TO TOP"

ICC officials were unavailable to comment, but Bowring said senior politicians, possibly including Prime Minister Tony Blair, could have something to worry about.

"Heads of state are not immune in principle," the law professor said. "This one goes right to the top."
-snip-

--Nobody expectes Tony Blair to be held accountable: he's not a "tin pot dictator." He's "our guy."

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Before the war the UK government swore blind

that they'd never use cluster bombs apart from in the open desert, because they'd be a danger to civilians.

Then after the bombing, they said "well, we had to use them everywhere, because the Iraqi soliders weren't lining up in nice neat lines in the desert to be killed, and we're working on listing all the places that we've dropped them, and in a few months we'll tell the Iraqi civilians, if they haven't worked it out from where they're all getting their limbs blown off, and ...".

[psychopomp]

2. kick

Didja hear that? Joined-at-the-hip U.S. ally #1 possibly facing war crimes accusations at the ICC?

edit: added "accusations"