The Geneva ConventionS, the UN Treaty, & Article 6 of the US Constitution

http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20020212.html
In 1882, U.S. President Chester Arthur signed the treaty, making the U.S. the 32nd nation to do so. The U.S. Senate ratified it shortly thereafter. At the same time, the American Association of the Red Cross was formed (many nations had begun to create their own Red Cross organizations in concert with the first Geneva Convention).

The U.S. ratified all the Geneva Conventions with the exception of the two protocols of 1977.

1977 protocols
http://deoxy.org/wc/wc-proto.htm

June 28, 1945 – U.S. Senate ratifies the UN treaty
http://www.ivcc.edu/bigelow/International%20Political/ir%20chapter%209%20notes.htm

U.S. Constitution
Article VI
This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land;

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlevi.html

a kind of upset and peeved expression in the eyes...

:thumbsup:

and we have an administration, or more appropriately a gang of thugs, who have committed high crimes knowingly and openly.

Photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing prisoners in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison have caused outrage around the world.

With the Islamic world enraged by the pictures and accounts of abuse by American troops, investigators are trying to uncover what really happened in the prison. At the same time, the United States is about to try alleged members of al-Qaeda, as well as Saddam Hussein and his key ministers. America is walking a fine line to avoid accusations of double standards as the two proceedings carry on in parallel.


How responsibility for what went on in the prison can be determined is a thorny question with at least two answers. One is legal: the actions of individuals in the U.S. armed forces come under that country's Uniform Code of Military Justice.


U.S. Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, centre, tours the execution gallows at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, Iraq, in this Sept. 6, 2003, file photo. At right is Brig.-Gen. Janis Karpinski. (AP Photo)

Members of the U.S. military and any civilians who may be involved are also responsible under what is called International Humanitarian Law, including the Hague, Geneva and Anti-Torture conventions.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/iraq/abughraib.html

It is an in depth backgrounder on the issues of responsibility, it is very long but well worth the read. It also has a PDF link to the Taguba Report for those who have not yet read it.

:thumbsup:

The invasion of Iraq was illegal under the UN Charter all by itself.

Sorry but WE ARE A NATION OF LAWS!! Right? I know I heard that somewhere.

the Preamble, defining among other purposes of the Charter:

"to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest"

and Article 51, which clearly defines the parameters under which self-defense is permissible:

"Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security."