25-10-2013, 11:58 AM
At least a few months ago a Peshawar High Court already ruled that US drone strikes in Pakistan are war crimes.
http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2013/05...y-illegal/
Generally, if you talk about war crimes, there are several different international and national laws that may be applicable. In the case of the US acting in Pakistan, the War Crimes Act of 1996 should be applicable, which references to "grave breaches" of the Geneva Conventions, to which the US are a party. That is the reason why the term "unlawful combatant" was invented to avoid applicability of the Geneva Conventions. Also the Military Comissions Act of 2006 attempts to legalize many acts of torture and rendition, but may be itself unconstitutional. But certainly even under the loosest interpretation, the intentional killing of civilians by drone or other means, has to be considered a war crime.
The fact that there are no court cases shows the deep corruption and disfunction of the US law system.
http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2013/05...y-illegal/
Generally, if you talk about war crimes, there are several different international and national laws that may be applicable. In the case of the US acting in Pakistan, the War Crimes Act of 1996 should be applicable, which references to "grave breaches" of the Geneva Conventions, to which the US are a party. That is the reason why the term "unlawful combatant" was invented to avoid applicability of the Geneva Conventions. Also the Military Comissions Act of 2006 attempts to legalize many acts of torture and rendition, but may be itself unconstitutional. But certainly even under the loosest interpretation, the intentional killing of civilians by drone or other means, has to be considered a war crime.
The fact that there are no court cases shows the deep corruption and disfunction of the US law system.
The most relevant literature regarding what happened since September 11, 2001 is George Orwell's "1984".