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By Prof. Michel Chosudovsky
From Global Reasearch | Original Article
Introduction
The Obama administration has embarked upon the ultimate war crime, a Worldwide military adventure, “a long war”, which threatens the future of humanity.
The Pentagon’s global military design is one of world conquest.
This military deployment of US-NATO forces is occurring in several regions of the world simultaneously, resulting in millions of civilian deaths and countless atrocities. More recently, U.S. and NATO ground forces have been deployed in Eastern Europe including Ukraine on Russia’s immediate doorstep.
Major military and covert intelligence operations are being undertaken simultaneously in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and the Far East. The U.S. military agenda combines both major theatre operations as well as covert actions geared towards destabilizing sovereign states.
In turn, Israel in liaison with the US, is threatening Iran with nuclear weapons. And the U.S. and its allies are threatening China and North Korea under President Obama’s “Pivot to Asia”.
Under a global military agenda, the actions undertaken by the Western military alliance (U.S.-NATO-Israel) in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, Ukraine, Syria and Iraq are coordinated at the highest levels of the military hierarchy.
In turn, military undertakings are closely coordinated with a process of economic warfare which consists not only in imposing sanctions on sovereign countries but also in deliberate acts of destabilization of financial and currencies markets, with a view to undermining the enemies’ national economies.
The Criminalization of War
What is at stake is a global criminal undertaking in defiance of international law. In the words of the late William Rockler:
The United States has discarded pretensions to international legality and decency, and embarked on a course of raw imperialism run amok.” (William Rockler, Nuremberg Tribunal prosecutor)
We will recall that the architect of Nuremberg, Supreme Court Justice and Nuremberg Prosecutor Robert Jackson said with some hesitation:
“We must never forget that the record on which we judge these defendants is the record on which history will judge us tomorrow. To pass these defendants a poisoned chalice is to put it to our own lips as well.”
Does this historical statement apply to President Barack Obama and his European political cohorts?
In defiance of Nuremberg, the Obama administration has invoked the conduct of “humanitarian wars” and counter-terrorism operations, with a view to installing “democracy”in targeted countries.
America and the Western World are allegedly threatened by the Islamic State bogeyman. And the International community is called upon take a stance.
War becomes peace. Realities are turned upside down. By actively co-opting the United Nations, the US administration has also invoked “self defence” as a justification to wage war against this illusive “outside enemy” of the Western World.
These lies and fabrications are part of of war propaganda. Under no circumstances can Obama’s war be upheld as a “solution”, as a means to implementing peace. War is the ultimate crime, “The Crime against Peace” as defined under Nuremberg.
The US-NATO led war applied Worlwide is a criminal undertaking under the disguise of counter-terrorism. It violates the Nuremberg Charter, the US constitution and the UN charter. According to former chief Nuremberg prosector Benjamin Ferencz, in relation to the 2003 invasion of Iraq:
“a prima facie case can be made that the United States is guilty of the supreme crime against humanity — that being an illegal war of aggression against a sovereign nation.”
Ferenz was referring to “Crimes against Peace and War” (Nuremberg Principle VI): which states the following:
“The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law:
- (a) Crimes against peace:
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- (i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances;
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- (ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i).
- (b) War crimes:
- Violations of the laws or customs of war which include, but are not limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave labor or for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory; murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the Seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity.
- (c) Crimes against humanity:
- Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts done against any civilian population, or persecutions on political, racial, or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime.”
“(i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances;
(ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i).”
It should be noted that Nuremberg Principle III relates directly to president Obama and the heads of State and heads of government of the US-NATO led coalition:
”a person who committed an act which constitutes a crime under international law acted as Head of State or responsible government official does not relieve him from responsibility under international law.”
Moreover, the evidence amply confirms that the United States of America is a “State Sponsor of Terrorism” and that the campaign against the Islamic State is a smokescreen used by the US and its allies to justify in the eyes of public opinion its global war of conquest.
Under Nuremberg the “Global War on Terrorism” is a criminal undertaking.
The Kuala Lumpur Initiative to Criminalize War
Following in the footsteps of Nuremberg, the objective of the December 2005 Kuala Lumpur initiative led by Tun Mahathir Mohamad was to criminalize war and eventually abolish war.
Let us recall the fundamental principles contained in the Kuala Lumpur Initiative to Criminalize War under the helm of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the fourth and longest serving prime minister of Malaysia.
“Killings in war are as criminal as the killings within societies in times of peace.
Since killings in peace time are subject to the domestic law of crime, killings in war must likewise be subject to the international law of crimes.
This should be so irrespective of whether these killings in war are authorized or permitted by domestic law.” (See full text of the Kuala Lumpur Initiative below)
Since the adoption of the KL Initiative to Criminalize war in December 2005, the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal (KLWCT) has passed two important judgements:
against George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, et al for war crimes in Iraq,
and against the State of Israel on charges of genocide against the people of Palestine.
More than ever the Kuala Lumpur Initiative launched almost ten years ago in December 2005 by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad should be widely understood and applied.
What is at stake is the universal recognition of the value of human life, solidarity and understanding between nationalities, ethnic groups and religions, as well as respect for national sovereignty. These are preconditions for World peace. As outline in the Kuala Lumpur declaration: “peace is the essential condition for the survival and well-being of the human race”.
In contrast tothese broad principles which define human values, the US military and financial establishment and its allies are intent upon destroying and destabilizing sovereign countries as part of an imperial agenda, through acts of war and economic plunder, the end result of which is the transformation of sovereign nations into open economic territories, under the jurisdiction of US approved proxy regimes.
To no avail, since 2008, President Obama has followed in the footsteps of George W. Bush. Together with America’s NATO allies, his administration has not only supported terrorist organizations, it has covertly supported terrorist insurgencies and has waged an extensive bombing campaign against Libya (2011), Syria and Iraq (2014-), drone attacks and targeted assassinations against Pakistan (2004-) among other military-intelligence operations.
Under the Kuala Lumpur Initiative to Criminalize War which was adopted under the helm of Tun Mahathir,
“All national leaders who initiate aggression must be subjected to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.”
Let us be crystal clear: Consistent with Nuremberg, the above statement applies to president Barack Obama and the heads of State and heads of government of NATO countries which endorsed the extensive carpet bombing operations directed against Libya, Syria and Iraq, resulting in the death of countless civilians.
Under Nuremberg and Kuala Lumpur, Barack Obama, France’s president Francois Hollande, Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron et al are war criminals.
Text of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration to Criminalize War
15 December 2005
THE Kuala Lumpur Global Peace Forum of concerned peoples from all five continents
UNITED in the belief that peace is the essential condition for the survival and well-being of the human race,
DETERMINED to promote peace and save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,
OUTRAGED over the frequent resort to war in the settlement of disputes between nations,
DISTURBED that militarists are preparing for more wars,
TROUBLED that use of armed force increases insecurity for all,
TERRIFIED that the possession of nuclear weapons and the imminent risk of nuclear war will lead to the annihilation of life on earth.
From Left to Right: Francis A.Boyle, Helen Caldicott, Denis J. Halliday, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Hans-Christof Von Sponeck, Michel Chossudovsky, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf
To achieve peace we now declare that:
- Wars increasingly involve the killing of innocent people and are, therefore, abhorrent and criminal.
- Killings in war are as criminal as the killings within societies in times of peace.
- Since killings in peace time are subject to the domestic law of crime, killings in war must likewise be subject to the international law of crimes. This should be so irrespective of whether these killings in war are authorized or permitted by domestic law.
- All commercial, financial, industrial and scientific activities that aid and abet war should be criminalised.
- All national leaders who initiate aggression must be subjected to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
- All nations must strengthen the resolve to accept the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and institute methods to settle international disputes by peaceful means and to renounce war.
- Armed force shall not be used except when authorised by a Resolution passed by two-thirds majority of the total membership of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
- All legislators and all members of Government must affirm their belief in peace and pledge to strive for peace.
- Political parties all over the world must include peace as one of their principal objectives.
- Non-Governmental Organisations committed to the promotion of peace should be set up in all nations.
- Public servants and professionals, in particular in the medical, legal, educational and scientific fields, must promote peace and campaign actively against war.
- The media must actively oppose war and the incitement to war and consciously promote the peaceful settlement of international disputes.
- Entertainment media must cease to glorify war and violence and should instead cultivate the ethos of peace.
- All religious leaders must condemn war and promote peace.
To these ends the Forum resolves to establish a permanent Secretariat in Kuala Lumpur to –
IMPLEMENT this Initiative.
OPPOSE policies and programmes that incite war.
SEEK the cooperation of NGOs worldwide to achieve the goals of this Initiative.
Signed by:
Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Prof. Francis A. Boyle, Dr. Helen Caldicott, Matthias Chang, Prof. Michel Chossudovsky, Prof Shad Saleem Faruqi, Denis J. Halliday, Dato’ Mukhriz Mahathir, Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, Dato’ Michael O.K. Yeoh, Hans-Christof Von Sponeck
To read more on this topic by Prof. Chosudovsky visit Global Reasearch.
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