War Crimes

Surely ‘war crimes’ is a redundancy. How could any half intelligent person expect that entering an aggressive war is just another of our normal activities? Sherman said. “War is hell”. Does that mean those who prosecute war are evil? Only the losers, it would seem.
The fascinating part is that our ‘more civilised’ cultures become outraged that some of our own fine fighting men and women might behave badly during a war.
Hello there folks? Is there a nice way to practice the art of aggressive warfare?
We send out kids, hyped up on all the bullshit it takes to get them in the right frame of mind to KILL; we put them in situations which would scare the living crap out of Vic Morrow, then we expect them to be nice.
War is the crime; the drones of war are all implicated, but it is those who command it are the real guilty parties. It goes without saying that OUR side will commit atrocities. So why single out the Calley’s and English’s for special attention?
They are no doubt guilty enough, but they are a sampling of the corruption of war, not its totality.
Calley’s was one of numerous horrifying incidents of the Vietnam War. Incidents sadly retold and re dreamed by those who can never escape the atrocities they were subject to and active in.
There is ample evidence that abuse of prisoners was widespread and that officers weren't adequately trained in how to treat detainees, in Iraq. What was Lynndie England’s special sin that she was among the few signaled out as scapegoats?
Reports say that the military has also reprimanded some higher-ranking officers, and allegations have surfaced of hundreds of other cases of detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Obviously the rule that the victor writes the history survives. The more powerful will deflect guilt to the weaker. Above it all, the political masters will simply wash their soiled hands while assigning all blame to their obedient warriors.
The people who should be facing war crimes trials are those who instigate these outrageous adventures! In this latest episode that means the Bush administration, Blair’s British Cabinet and his counterparts under Howard in Australia. The list probably goes on, but it is a start. Stop blaming the tools and start blaming those who wield the tools.