UN Lawyer Leading Drone Inquiry Calls Obama Speech 'Significant' and 'Historic'

[reusrename]

9. War Crimes.

Let's not forget what the UN investigation is all about:

"[It is] alleged that since President Obama took office at least 50 civilians were killed in follow-up strikes when they had gone to help victims and more than 20 civilians have also been attacked in deliberate strikes on funerals and mourners. Christof Heyns … has described such attacks, if they prove to have happened, as war crimes. I would endorse that view."


http://m.guardiannews.com/world/2012/oct/25/un-inquiry-us-drone-strikes?cat=world&type=article


Outrage at CIA's deadly 'double tap' drone attacks

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/outrage-at-cias-deadly-double-tap-drone-attacks-8174771.html

Will these crimes just be more water under bridge for this administration? Past mistakes that don't need to be prosecuted?

Obama might already be convinced that General Petraeus is a war criminal (I certainly believe it) and this could very likely be why he had to let him go. He did resign very promptly once Emmerson was appointed UN rapporteur leading this investigation.

from juancole.com

The United Nations will Investigate Civilian Deaths in US Drone Strikes

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism writes

>>>snip

The London-based lawyer became the second senior UN official in recent months to label the tactic of deliberately targeting rescuers and funeral-goers with drones ‘a war crime’. That practice was first exposed by the Bureau for the Sunday Times in February 2012.

‘[It is] alleged that since President Obama took office at least 50 civilians were killed in follow-up strikes when they had gone to help victims and more than 20 civilians have also been attacked in deliberate strikes on funerals and mourners. Christof Heyns … has described such attacks, if they prove to have happened, as war crimes. I would endorse that view,’ said Emmerson.


>>>snip

Also, under 18 USC 2441 - War crimes, this can be a capital offense if people are killed.

(c) Definition.— As used in this section the term “war crime” means any conduct—
(1) defined as a grave breach in any of the international conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party;

Folks should realize that any grave breach of Geneva is an actual war crime under our own US domestic law.

The follow-up drone strikes are, in all probability, prosecutable as offenses under the Geneva Conventions treaty, particularly the Fourth Convention, Part 1, Article 3, to wit:

...the parties must as a minimum adhere to minimal protections described as: noncombatants, members of armed forces who have laid down their arms, and combatants who are hors de combat (out of the fight) due to wounds, detention, or any other cause shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, with the following prohibitions:
(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds,


So a bomb aimed at those retrieving wounded from a previous strike would fall under this category, as well as provisions pertaining to

"the protection of civilians providing aid to the wounded"

under the first Convention. - barracuda

We know the CIA was running the drone program when these strikes occurred.

This sure looks like an easily proven, bona fide war crime, that can be traced back to the General?

Did Petraeus give the order?

Does anyone even care anymore?