This is... unexpected.
Well, better late than never, right?
Iraq: Insurgent Groups Responsible for War Crimes (Human Rights Watch, 3-10-2005)My goodness, such a strong statement. I'm sure they'll cease immediately.Report Challenges Justifications for Attacks on Civilians
(Amman, October 3, 2005) – The various rationales offered by insurgent groups in Iraq for their attacks on civilians are not justified in international law, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the ensuing military occupation has resulted in tens of thousands of civilian deaths and sparked the emergence of these insurgent groups. Two chapters in the report summarize laws of war violations by U.S. and Iraqi government forces. But these violations do not justify the insurgents’ unlawful attacks, the report says.Ah, good. Glad they could keep things in perspective.
“U.S. forces have used excessive and indiscriminate force, tortured detainees and held thousands of Iraqis without due process,” Whitson said. “But that does not justify attacks by insurgent groups that have deliberately targeted and killed civilians.”
Previous Human Rights Watch reports have documented the U.S. military’s use of indiscriminate and excessive force, illegal detentions, and the use of torture at places like Abu Ghraib, as well as torture by the Iraqi police (see list below).
The new report analyzes the insurgency in Iraq and highlights the groups that are most responsible for the abuse, namely al-Qaeda in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunna and the Islamic Army in Iraq, which have all targeted civilians for abductions and executions. The first two groups have repeatedly boasted about massive car bombs and suicide bombs in mosques, markets, bus stations and other civilian areas. Such acts are war crimes and in some cases may constitute crimes against humanity, which are defined as serious crimes committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population.Um, I think they're making an assumption that the 'insurgents' actually, you know, care about that. To them, it's all good... right?
The report documents the assassinations of government officials, politicians, judges, journalists, humanitarian aid workers, doctors, professors and those deemed to be collaborating with the foreign forces in Iraq, including translators, cleaners and others who perform civilian jobs for the U.S.-led Multi-National Force. Insurgents have directed suicide and car bomb attacks at Shi`a mosques, Christian churches and Kurdish political parties with the purpose of killing civilians. Allegations that these communities are legitimate targets because they support the foreign forces in Iraq have no basis in international law, which requires the protection of any civilian who is not actively participating in the hostilities.
Insurgent groups also have tortured and summarily executed civilians and captured combatants in their custody, sometimes by beheading. And they have carried out attacks against legitimate military targets, such as army convoys, in such a manner that the foreseeable loss of civilian life was greatly disproportionate to the military gain.
Some insurgent groups and supporters of the insurgency have condemned attacks targeting civilians. In one case, a group ordered its members to avoid attacks on civilians and apparently stopped operations in urban areas where civilians might get hurt. The report recommends that all insurgent groups issue similar condemnations and order their members to stop attacking civilians.I'm sure this will happen immediately.
Political and religious leaders in Iraq and abroad who support the insurgency should also condemn unlawful attacks, the report said. Human Rights Watch has been meeting with representatives of the media and civil society in the Arab world to discuss the practice of targeting civilians by armed groups in the Middle East.Hey, it's a quaint and time honored tradition. They'll be running up against Islamic fatalism - if Allah wills someone should die, it's their time. Can't fight the timing when Allah's pullin' the trigger, after all.
“People we have spoken with in the Middle East are increasingly repulsed by the behavior of insurgent groups in Iraq, even if they support a withdrawal of U.S. troops,” Whitson said. “It is time for political and religious leaders who support the insurgency to denounce the atrocities in public.”Oh, I'll hold my breath for that one, all right.
But you know the real money quote for me?
“There are no justifications for targeting civilians, in Iraq or anywhere else,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division. “Armed groups as well as governments must respect the laws of war.”My response to this whole thing is below the fold.
J.
You stupid, arrogant fool. Where exactly were you when the 'insurgents' were slaughtering people who were insufficently Islamic in Fallujah? Where were your noble pronouncements a year ago, when the insurgents were setting off bomb after bomb? Where were your dignified, measured statements when heads were being hacked off and video put on the Internet?
You wouldn't say anything, because you weren't QUITE sure which way the wind was blowing. You didn't want to take a chance of perhaps alienating the insurgents that Michael Moore was so in love with, and who were fighting so bravely against the evil US. Conservatives don't pay your rent that much - you couldn't afford to tick off your contributors. It didn't matter the terrorists in Iraq were slaughtering their own in wholesale lots - as long as the obligatory one or two US soldiers were killed each day to be used to justify a pullout you could weep and moan, and pretend to be useful.
You kept silent on what the terrorists were doing - just like CNN did during the Saddam years. Instead of reporting on and condemning the atrocities boldy, you were timid. You knew if you took a bold stance, you had a chance of being targeted by 'peaceful' Islamic fundamentalists who might take offense to your words. And no matter how much you castigated and condemned the US, you knew you were in no danger from IT.
I'm guessing that you'll deflect criticism by saying you had to actually research the issues involved, that you wanted to verify things happened before condeming them. I'm glad to see you're so diligent... and so even-handed that in a 14 paragraph report chastising the Iraqi terrorists, you spent 3 criticising the US. It's impressive to see the spotlight you've focused on the insurgent problem - out of your last 4o articles on the Iraq war you've managed to find enough to come up with material for two. (Three if you count one where you're saying the insurgents are mean to those who want to leave the insurgency. Oh, wait - that's from Iran, it doesn't count.)
And those two were only posted today.
You've shown your idealism pimps out your integrity. You've squandered the good will gathered from your work in your early years, and have become a mockery of your name, even while some folks will gladly look upon your self-important preenings as proof of relevance. Your silence in the face of a murderous and pathological theology has helped prolong this war, and your tacit consent made it easier for the 'backers' of the insurgents to justify their assistance.
You had a choice - and you were silent for a long time.
Thanks for finally speaking up in protest. But your window of opportunity for making a difference closed a long time ago.
J.