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The Ultimate War Crime: America’s “Global War on Terrorism.” The Obama/Osama Crusade

The criminalization of war is the avenue to reaching world peace

Michel Chossudovsky

[This article titled The Ultimate War Crime: America’s “Global War on Terrorism.” The Obama/Osama Crusade by Prof. Michel Chossudovsky was first published by Global Research on March 8, 2015 at the outset of Obama’s second term. You may read it here.]

The Islamic State is not only protected by the US and its allies, it is trained and financed by US-NATO, with the support of Israel and Washington’s Persian Gulf allies.

Al Qaeda-affiliated entities are “intelligence assets.” Instruments of US Intelligence. The Global War on Terrorism is a fabrication used to justify a war of conquest. The Jihadist terrorists are “Made in America.” They are instruments of US intelligence, yet they are presented to public opinion as “enemies of America.”

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 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 worldwide is a criminal undertaking under the guise of counter-terrorism. It violates the Nuremberg Charter, the US Constitution and the UN Charter. According to former chief Nuremberg prosecutor 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:

(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).

(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 IIIrelates 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 judgments:

• 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 outlined 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.

War Propaganda and the Demonization of Muslims: A Criminal Undertaking Under International Law

An extensive propaganda campaign has been launched with a view to upholding US-NATO-Israel military actions in Libya, Syria, Iraq and Palestine as humanitarian endeavours, as part of a crusade against Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.

This agenda has been embraced at the political level by America’s European allies. A broad political consensus prevails which upholds war as a peace-making undertaking, as a solution, as a means to implementing “democracy” and the “free market.”

The Pentagon, NATO and Israel are the protagonists of war and war crimes. Al Qaeda and the Islamic State are presented at the “outside enemy” which threatens the Western world.

In turn, a hate campaign has been launched against Muslim countries as well as Muslim communities within Western countries. This recent wave of Islamophobia is intended to create divisions within Western societies.

In a bitter irony, while the West has initiated a worldwide demonization campaign against Muslims, the millions of victims of US-NATO-led wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, are predominantly Muslims. Moreover, in both Syria, Iraq and Palestine the Christian communities have also been targeted, the cultural heritage of Muslims and Christians in Mesopotamia has been decimated by US-sponsored terrorists.

The crimes and atrocities committed by the Western military alliance in Fallujah, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo are beyond description. These crimes have been amply documented in the 2012 Judgment of the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission against George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, et al.

The intent of Obama’s campaign is to beat the drums of war, to justify in the eyes of public opinion, America’s wars in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

The Global War on Terrorism: The Political Consensus

Sustained by media disinformation, the Global War on Terrorism is now part of a far-reaching political consensus in Western countries. It has also been used by Western governments to justify and implement “anti-terrorist” legislation within their respective countries.

The fact that the “Global War on Terrorism” is endorsed by the so-called “international community” and rubber-stamped by the United Nations Security Council does not, however, provide it legitimacy under international law. Despite these endorsements, it nonetheless constitutes a diabolical criminal undertaking, which is fundamentally based on a lie.

When the lie becomes the truth and war becomes peace, there is no turning backwards.

The legitimacy of the Global War on Terrorism is sustained by media disinformation and war propaganda. In this regard, the various actions intended to deliberately mislead public opinion, obfuscate the atrocities of America-led wars and justify war on humanitarian grounds, are categorized as criminal acts of war propaganda, under Nuremberg. In this regard, David Walsh in an April 2003 article, recounts the circumstances surrounding the prosecution of one of Nazi Germany’s most prominent propagandist:

Hans Fritzsche was named head of the German Press Division in 1938 … The Nuremberg prosecutor detailed the propaganda campaigns taken up by the German media, under Fritzsche’s immediate supervision,…

“Fritzsche incited atrocities and encouraged a ruthless occupation policy. The results of propaganda as a weapon of the Nazi conspirators reaches into every aspect of this conspiracy, including the atrocities and ruthless exploitation in occupied countries. It is likely that many ordinary Germans would never have participated in or tolerated the atrocities committed throughout Europe, had they not been conditioned and goaded by the constant Nazi propaganda. The callousness and zeal of the people who actually committed the atrocities was in large part due to the constant and corrosive propaganda of Fritzsche and his official associates.”

Nuremberg also applies to military indoctrination and “internal propaganda” within the various US and NATO war colleges and academies which glorify war.

Moreover, under Nuremberg, the granting of a peace prize to war criminals, including Barack Obama and Tony Blair is criminal, in that it upholds the legitimacy of the war criminals in high office.

The Kuala Lumpur Initiative to Criminalize War acknowledges the criminal nature of war propaganda as defined under Nuremberg and calls upon the mainstream media to:

“actively oppose war and the incitement to war and consciously promote the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Entertainment media [Hollywoods] must cease to glorify war and violence and should instead cultivate the ethos of peace.”

Beyond doubt, the “Global War on Terrorism” is a fabrication. It is part of a conspiracy to mislead the public into accepting war as a humanitarian undertaking. The United States of America is the “Number One” State Sponsor of Terrorism responsible for extensive war crimes.

Without war propaganda, war criminals in high office would not have a leg to stand on. Their legitimacy in the eyes of public opinion would collapse like a deck of cards.

The Big Lie: The Global War on Terrorism, Obama’s Crusade Against the Islamic State (ISIS)

America’s “global war on terrorism” is a hegemonic project, carried out under a fake counter-terrrorism mandate which consists in going after an illusive “Jihadist” enemy which “threatens Western civilization.”

The Global War on Terrorism is a Lie. The alleged enemy of the West is fabricated. Counter-terrorism is invoked as a pretext to wage an all out war of conquest.

We will argue that the U.S. airstrikes initiated in August 2014 directed against Iraq and Syria under the pretext of going after the Islamic State (ISIS) are part of a scenario of military conquest and escalation extending from North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean to Central and South Asia.

Since August 2014, the US Air Force with the support of a coalition of more than 20 countries has relentlessly waged an intensified air campaign against Syria and Iraq allegedly targeting the Islamic State brigades.

According to Defense News, over 16,000 airstrikes were carried out from August 2014 to mid January 2015. Sixty percent of the airstrikes were conducted by the US Air Force using advanced jet fighter and bombing capabilities. (Aaron Mehta, “A-10 Performing 11 Percent of Anti-ISIS Sorties”, Defense News, January 19, 2015.)

The airstrikes have been casually described by the media as part of a “soft” counter-terrorism operation, rather than an act of all out war directed against Syria and Iraq.

This large scale air campaign which has resulted in countless civilian casualties has been routinely misreported by the mainstream media. According to Max Boot, senior fellow in national security at the Council on Foreign Relations,

”Obama’s strategy in Syria and Iraq is not working… [ because] the U.S. bombing campaign against ISIS has been remarkably restrained.” (Newsweek, February 17, 2015, emphasis added)

Americans are led to believe that the Islamic State constitutes a formidable force confronting the US military and threatening Western Civilization. The thrust of media reporting is that the US Air Force has failed and that “Obama should get his act together” in effectively confronting this ”Outside Enemy” of America.

According to CFR Max Boot, military escalation is the answer: what is required is for the president “to dispatch more aircraft, military advisers, and special operations forces, while loosening the restrictions under which they operate.” (Ibid)

What kind of aircraft are involved in the air campaign? The F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F-15E Strike Eagle, and the A-10 Warthog, not to mention Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor stealth tactical fighter aircraft.

Image: F-16 Fighting Falcon

Image: F-15E Strike Eagle

Why has the US Air Force not been able to wipe out the Islamic State, which at the outset was largely equipped with conventional small arms not to mention state of the art Toyota pickup trucks?

From the very outset, this air campaign has NOT been directed against ISIS. The evidence confirms that the Islamic State is not the target. Quite the opposite.

The air raids are intended to destroy the economic infrastructure of Iraq and Syria.

Read the full article on Global Research.