It is appearing that the war for the liberation of Iraq from Saddam Hussein has been growing in intensity in the last few hours.
Fighting continues around the key location of Nasiriyah as US forces continue to deal with pockets of resistance. However, it does appear as though the coalition forces are making headway in the region. The more the Iraqis claim that a particular battle is turning against coalition forces, the more likely it seems that coalition forces are routing the Iraqis.
Al-Jazeera has been broadcasting images of US POWs that were captured by Iraqi forces. The Pentagon admits that 10 soldiers are unaccounted for in the battle for Nasiriyah. Broadcasting images of POWs is against the Geneva Convention, and the Iraqis are hoping to use these images to sap US morale. However, given the Jacksonian nature of America, this may only spur the American fighting spirit even more againt Hussein’s regime.
A US Patriot missile may have shot down a UK Tornado fighter-bomber over northern Kuwait as the aircraft returned from a mission. Officials are investigating the accident to determine what breakdown caused the accident. Usually aircraft carry a device called an IFF transmitter that identifies their status to allied forces to prevent fratricide.
It’s important to note that this mission will not be a cakewalk. As the President had noted, we’re out to topple the Hussein regime, and those remaining loyalists will need to be dealt with. While we could very well be in Baghdad by midweek or possibly even earlier, there will still be pockets of resistance in previously captured territory. However, given our ability to leverage precision munitions from the air and our advanced squad-level tactics, we still possess a nearly insurmountable advantage over even the best of the Republican Guard.
Furthermore, there is evidence that Saddam Hussein was injured and that key members of the Iraqi leadership have been killed or disabled. This means that the kind of organized resistance that would have been predicted is much less likely. Even the Republican Guard units are not autonomous as US or coalition units are. The Iraqi military is a top-down hiearchical affair, while the US military invests much authority and autonomy in individual soldiers. That difference is key to victory in any conflict, and as we continue to degrade the Iraqi’s ability to resist, the task ahead will become less difficult.
Violation of the Geneva Convention…
That it is correct, however, it is very ironic that our government would complain about Geveneva Convention violations since they are violating the very same agreement on a daily basis for the last two years with the prisoners being detained in Guantanamo Bay.
And then of course we have the violation of the US Constitution by George W Bush.
And let’s not forget the biggest one of all, the violation of UN international laws, with respect to the invasion of Iraq by the US without permission from the UN security council.
Resolution 1441 clearly stated that if Iraq was found in material breach of that resolution than "serious consequences" would result. I would wager that invasion is a very serious consequence of noncompliance.
Airing video of prisoners is not a violation of the Geneva Convention regarding POWs. Using POWs in a mocking manner is, that’s what has the Bush Administration angry. After all, CNN has aired video of Iraqi POWs but their treatment is considerably more dignified.
This is what res1441 says:
“13. Recalls, in that context, that the Council has repeatedly warned Iraq that
it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations of its
obligations;
14. Decides to remain seized of the matter.”
That does NOT give the right to the US to invade Iraq.
The “serious consequences” are to be determined by the UN security council, and carried out by a coalition force with authority granted by the council.
It’s not about “wagering” wether invasion is a serious consequence (of course it is…who wants to be invaded?!?!), it’s about following resolution you agreed upon.
The US are not the UN, they cannot decide what the “serious consequences” are.
But then again, our great US govt doesn’t really care, it does just about what it wants.
Oh and don’t you just love the logic here?
“We won’t follow UN rules and go in because Iraq didn’t follow UN rules”…riiiight…that makes sense…