War Criminals 'R Us

by Stephen Lendman

The above indisputable reality applies to the empire of lies and forever wars on invented enemies threatening no one, its NATO vassals, apartheid Israel and Nazi-infested Ukraine — not Russia, China, Iran or other nations targeted for regime change by both right wings of the US war party.

Last week, the Biden regime's attorney General, Merrick Garland, showed up in Ukraine.

Dubiously claiming he arrived to investigate war crimes, he hyperventilated as follows, saying:

"We will pursue every avenue available to make sure that those who are responsible for these atrocities are held accountable (sic)."

They overflow in numbers too numerous to count back home in the Washington cesspool of imperial criminality of the worst kind gone unpunished.

On all things related to indisputable crimes of war, against humanity and the worst of state-sponsored atrocities, the empire of lies and its vassals have a rap sheet longer than Pinocchio's fully extended nose multiple times over when caught lying red-handed.

Yet hardly ever in modern memory were any US military personnel at any level held accountable for crimes too grievous to ignore.

And at times when occurred, innocent US soldiers were framed and convicted for offenses of higher-ups, things they had nothing to do with.

In his book, titled "The 'Good Soldier' On Trial: A Sociological Study of Misconduct by the US Military Pertaining to Operation Iron Triangle, Iraq," Professor Stjepan Mestrovic documented how the above works.

He revealed evidence of how hegemon USA "mistreat(s)" its own low-level military personnel and "foreign detainees."

Quoting Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" to highlight Pentagon misconduct by wrongfully shifting blame to innocent patsies, the line from his book was as follows, saying:

Clevinger "was guilty, of course, or he would have not been accused, and since the only way to prove it was to find him guilty, it was their patriotic duty to do so."

Spc. William Hunsaker was Mestrovic's main protagonist.

Innocent of phony charges against him, he was declared guilty by accusation.

Senior US regime officials and Pentagon commanders bear full responsibility for crimes of war and against humanity whenever the empire of lies invents enemies to unjustifiably attack — not rank-and-file soldiers, notably not ones betrayed by deployment to battle on false pretenses.

In his Nuremberg Tribunal opening remarks, Justice Robert Jackson said the following:

"The common sense of mankind demands that law shall not stop with the punishment of petty crimes by little people."

Most important is "reach(ing) (officials) who possess themselves of great power and make deliberative and concerted use of it to set in motion evils which leave no home in the world untouched."

Jackson called Nuremberg defendants "men of a station and rank which does not soil its own hands with blood."

"These were men who knew how to use lesser folk as tools."

"We want to reach the planners and designers, the inciters and leaders."

The same standard should apply to US-dominated NATO officials today, holding them fully accountable, according to international laws.

Operation Iron Triangle, Iraq soldiers were ordered by their commander, Col. Michael Steele, to kill every military-aged Iraqi on sight, including noncombatants.

Similar rules of engagement likely apply to all US wars of aggression — pre-and-post-WW II.

In his book, titled "War Without Mercy" on the Pacific theater during WW II, John Dower documented atrocities by US military personnel as horrendous as the worst of what Japanese soldiers committed.

Yet no prosecutions or dishonorable discharges followed — medals for alleged valor presented instead.

The misnamed "good war" was the bloodiest on record, the worst of war crimes committed by both sides in all theaters.

Nuremberg Principles and Law of Land Warfare standards are incorporated in the US Army Field Manual (FM) 27-10 — and its equivalent documents for other US military branches, stating the following:

Any US service member at all levels, or civilians in war theaters, who commit crimes as defined under international law shall be held responsible and punished appropriately.

Yet in all US wars of choice, victims alone are punished.

The 2002 American Service Members' Protection Act (aka The Hague Invasion Act) "protect(s) US military personnel and other elected and appointed officials of the US against criminal prosecution by an international court to which the US is not party."

It authorizes the president to use "all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any US or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court."

It prohibits the extradition of anyone from the US to the ICC. 

In a November 2000 open letter, Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, Zbigniew Brzezinki, former CIA director Richard Helms, and other US signatories said Washington must put "our nation's military personnel safety (sic) beyond the reach of an unaccountable international prosecutor (sic), operating under procedures inconsistent with our Constitution (sic)." 

Instead of holding US military and civilian personnel accountable for high crimes too serious to ignore, absolution follows.

Victims of hegemon USA's crimes of war and against humanity alone are wrongfully blamed for what's committed against them.

Separately last Sunday on US propaganda TV, interventionist Blinken turned reality on its head as follows, saying:

Vladimir Putin "failed" to achieve his "strategic objectives" in Ukraine and Donbass — virtually won by Russia.

Its SMO has nothing to do with "end(ing) Ukraine's sovereignty," as Blinken falsely claimed.

Nothing to do with "eras(ing) (it) from the map (or) subsum(ing) it in Russia."

As for Ukrainian troops "pushing back," making "gains," even intelligent US/Western grade school kids paying attention to reality on the ground know it's otherwise.

The made-in-the-US beast called Ukraine's military is being systematically smashed — most of its most seasoned fighters eliminated, others and conscript forces on their back foot in steady retreat ahead of advancing Russian forces.

In less than a year-and-a-half as Washington's so-called secretary of state, Blinken is challenging Pompeo and Hillary as worst of the worst to hold the position of top US foreign policy official.

All things related to "aggression" has been longstanding US policy since the 18th century — polar opposite how Russia, China, Iran and other invented US enemies operate.

And this Blinken perversion of reality:

"Ever since Putin lost the battle for Kiev (sic)" — not planned or waged — he's "terror(izing) eastern and southern Ukraine (sic)."

Virtually everything alleged about Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians and nonmilitary infrastructure have been bald-faced Big Lies.

Blinken piled on more — while ignoring hegemon USA's unmatched rap sheet, overflowing with the worst of imperial criminality.

And what Blinken claimed is negatively impacting Russia by US/Western sanctions war is largely shooting blanks — while greatly harming European economies, hegemon USA's real target to make them more subservient than already.

Throughout its SMO and earlier, Russia outsmarted, outmaneuvered, and outwitted the empire of lies and its Western vassals.

Fabricated claims otherwise by Blinken changed nothing about reality on the ground.

Russia, China and other nations free from hegemon USA's control continue rising in prominence on the world stage.

They're in sharp contrast to how the decadent, depraved West continues its decline en route to history's dustbin where is imperial aims belong.