Is US the rogue nation of the world?

The Axis Enemy Series: Which Rogue Nation? -- by Andrea Howard

Defining Rogue States

What do you call a Nation that is defiant of, and routinely violates International Law; one who invokes International Law, only when it serves its own interests, acting unilaterally when it does not?

How is a Nation defined when it demands accountability for other Nations while denying the rest of the world the ability to ensure, and enforce, accountability upon itself; when its military might is used to enforce its ideology and agenda, basing its entire existence on the Rule of Coercion and Force?

What do you call a Nation that maintains and continues to pursue newer and better Weapons of Mass Destruction; when it exports those weapons around the world?

How should a Nation, that plans, supports, funds, and executes aggressions against other sovereign Nations, without regard for their legality, be viewed?

What is the definition of a State that engages in and supports terrorism when it suits its own interests and agenda, acting in the interests of the elite, without regard for its own citizens, or the citizens of other Nations?

The US labels Nations that exhibit these actions as "Rogue States." Ironic; the US defined the "Rogue Nation" concept and is now defined by it.

The Move on Iran

It appears that the next target in US sights is Iran. The UN was recently presented with yet another "slide show" – this time regarding Iran. The show was incredibly like that of the US presentation to the UN given prior to the invasion of Iraq. The resolution just passed, enabling Iran to be brought before the Security Council, backed by the US, concerns Iran’s alleged refusal to abide by International Law. Irony appears to be the basis for much US action.

The demand that Iran relinquish its right, established under the Non Proliferation Treaty and guaranteed by International Law, to enrich uranium is one of the better examples of US hypocrisy. The US would never consider giving up this right and is in fact working to develop next generation nuclear weapons. Iran has had independent inspectors on the ground for some time and their facilities have been, and are currently, monitored. I wonder when inspections are scheduled to begin in the US on its own nuclear facilities as well as its stockpile of thousands of nuclear weapons?

Proliferation of Weapons and "First Strike"

In terms of weapons the US leads the planet on the research and manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. For more than 400 years the world has rightfully sworn off the despised practice of "pre-emptive war." In fact, the authoritarian Bush Administration’s beloved doctrine of "pre-emptive war" has now been extended to the use of nuclear weapons as "first strike".

Not since the German Nazis of World War II has the world heard the gleeful trumpeting of the cause of the glorious, heroic "pre-emptive war." The US, in its document " Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations " integrates the use of nuclear weapons in strategic planning ; the US has circumvented mere deterrence for the use of nuclear weapons in "conflict." The NeoCons mean to use them – global thermonuclear weapons of war.

Whether the new "bunker buster" ( Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator ), the new "mini-nukes, or the new nuclear bomb plants called "Modern Pit Facilities" the US makes clear its ideology on weapons of mass destruction. It has refused to ratify the Protocol to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, has refused to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, has refused to ratify the Biological Toxins and Weapons Convention, and refuses to sign the Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention (the US manufactures and deploys uranium land mines). [Andrea - any additional references would be good to include for this paragraph - but not essential]

US expenditures for military/weapons for FY2005 is approximately $500 billion dollars ; this does not include financing of operations in Iraq or Afghanistan nor does it include financing of the "War on Terror" or the Department of Energy’s funding for nuclear weapons functions.

Biological Weapons and D.U.

Presently, the US military is shopping for large quantities of anthrax as well as the equipment needed to produce high volumes of other biological agents. Contracts documenting this were located by Edward Hammond, of the Sunshine Project , an organization working against the use of biological and chemical weapons. Although the US is signatory to the Biological Weapons Convention, the Dugway Proving Ground was producing lethal anthrax as late as 1998. (New Scientist, Sept 25)

US use of uranium weapons is entirely illegal under International Law, a reality that the US continues to ignore. The contamination of people, water, and land, because of continued use of uranium weapons, is well established. The Pentagon/Department of Defense , in their own documents ,reveal the facts about uranium weapons while they continue to label the uranium as "depleted."

The use of this term is outright propaganda. "Depleted" uranium is radioactive nuclear industry waste, which is provided free of charge to weapons manufacturers. To label uranium, that maintains more than 75% its radioactivity, "depleted" is a blatant attempt to mask the truth about the lucrative use of this poison in US weapons. The Pentagon and Department of Defense consistently refuse to address the issue and refuse to provide adequate testing for US troops while Iraqi, Afghan and US troops continue to suffer the fall out from radiation dispersing weapons.

Through its "liberation" operations in the Mid East, the US continues to drop tons of lethally radioactive uranium bombs – giving the gift that keeps on giving, generation after generation (the half life is approximately 4.5 billion years), and in the process, is giving this gift to US troops as well. Uranium weapons distinguish between no ethnicity; contamination is absolute and is causing drastically increased cancer and leukemia rates as well as leaving the children of Iraq and US troops deformed forever.

The Use of Torture

US use of torture is well established. While everyone is aware of the horrors endured at the Abu Graib Prison, recently a US Army Captain and two Sergeants revealed that abuse was used as part of military interrogations and to "relieve stress" at a US Forward Operating Base near Fallujah. One Sergeant stated , "Trends were accepted. Leadership failed to provide clear guidance so we just developed it. They wanted intel. As long as no PUCs (Persons Under Control) came up dead it happened. We heard rumors of PUCs dying so we were careful. We kept it to broken arms and legs and shit" (Human Rights Watch: "Leadership Failure: Firsthand Accounts of Torture of Iraqi Detainees by the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division").

Among some of the more lively methods of torture utilized was the breaking of detainee’s legs with a baseball bat and forcing detainees to hold five-gallon jugs of water with their arms outstretched and perform other acts until they passed out. Chemical substances were also applied to detainees’ skin and eyes; detainees were placed in forced stress positions. Sleep deprivation and extremes of hot and cold were employed as well as the denial of food and water and the infamous stacking of human pyramids (Reuters, Sept 26). The US has not only utilized methods of torture but has also sent detainees to Nations it is well aware routinely uses methods of torture.

Human Trafficking

US adherence to Human Rights is another outstanding example of its compliance of International Law. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Ecuador, found to have engaged in violations of Human Trafficking Laws, recently had sanctions leveled against them. The US, after having criticized all three Countries as the worst offenders in human trafficking, promptly waived those sanctions because of "US interests." US support of States that are routine violators of human rights is well established - from Saudi Arabia to Egypt to Israel.

Mass Slaughter

In Iraq, the US has just completed operation " Empty Tel Afar " resulting in the devastation of hundreds of thousands of civilian lives. This operation has been carried out in several other cities, most notably in Fallujah, devastating many more hundreds of thousands of civilian lives. The number of civilian casualties grows exponentially. Luckily for the US it has joined Iraq (pre-invasion), Israel, China and Libya in its refusal to take part in the International Criminal Court. International court proceedings, with high level US participation and initiative, were adequate and vital for trying the war crimes of World War II; the US now apparently finds the notion of equality under the law too big a gamble for its "interests."

The Police State

Since 9/11 the expansion of police powers in the US has led to citizen rights violations concerning the rights to privacy, speech, and religion. The US is now detaining its own citizens without charge or trial. The US is now incarcerating members of the press for adhering to journalistic integrity as well as denying entry to the Country by well-established journalists. Now there is a call to "reconsider" the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the use of US military forces from engaging in law enforcement activities in the Nation’s communities.

Nazi Germany was allowed to function, in large part, by the silent complicity of its people. Ordinary, everyday working people who were primarily concerned with the very issues the citizens of the US are concerned with – employment, housing, food, ensuring the fulfillment of basic needs and ultimately, ensuring their families survival.

War Crime

The law, both domestic and international presents an obligation to demand accountability and hold responsible those who violate the law. The US Constitution mandates, "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States…and all treaties made…under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land." Under the Nuremburg War Crimes Judgement, with the prosecution of war crimes during World War II, responsibilities exist for individuals as well as Head’s of State and their subordinates – Under Nuremburg we are reminded that, "Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience…therefore have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring" (Nuremberg Tribunal, 1950).

It is time the Principles of Nuremburg are recognized and fulfilled. Individuals suffer the consequences of their actions, of criminal behaviors; it is time for those who hold themselves above the law to be reminded that there is no exception under the law.