Pentagon Again Flouts Geneva Conventions In Iraq
So I read various reports that part of the Pentagon’s new “strategy” to fight the Iraqi reistance is the wholescale demolition of civilian homes ‘connected’ with alleged resistance figures. This is, of course, in strict violation of the Geneva Conventions against the deliberate destruction of civilian property, except where for those houses which by their nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military action and whose total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage. In other words, hitting a structure that is being used directly to attack or supply an attack against your forces is acceptable, but collective punishment against the property of captive civilian populations is not.
As widely predicted early on in the invasion, the Pentagon is simply borrowing from the Israeli IDF’s tactic book when it comes to dealing with Palestinian resistance to their occupation.
I note that after many decades the Israeli tactics seem to have produced very little tangible results except massive property destruction and general bad feeling. Short-term, destroying homes impoverishes people and may force them to fearfully concentrate on mere survival while diminishing their capacity to support resistance fighters in the field, but long-term it is a most efficient method of breeding new waves of resistance fighters.
Perhaps the only more efficient way the Pentagon could encourage more resistance fighters would be to engage in those failure-prone tactics of public mass executions, ethnic cleansing, and property seizure, as popularized by the German Army and SS during their occupation of Western and Eastern Europe. Given that these techniques prompted stronger resistance and rising disaffection throughout most of occupied Europe, all I can think is that in general, that Leaders who command Armies incorrectly assume that the unrestrained application of lethal force can solve all social problems. The current Pentagon planners seem to be making the same mistakes they did during the “strategic hamlet” phase of the Vietnam War. The Iraqi resistance fighters are cleverly drawing them into an escalated application of indiscriminate force against the population – both sides are following the standard script of occupation/resistance, albeit at a faster pace than many historical imperial occupations.
The U.S. military has begun leveling houses and buildings used by suspected Iraqi guerrillas … Pentagon officials rejected any comparison to Israeli military tactics in the West Bank and Gaza, saying U.S. actions are aimed at eliminating military targets — not punishing sympathizers. In September, Israel Defense Forces said the demolition of “houses of terrorists sends a message that anyone who participates in terrorist activity will pay a price for their actions.”
In a tactic reminiscent of Israeli crackdowns in the West Bank and Gaza, the military has begun destroying the homes of suspected guerilla fighters in Iraq’s Sunni Triangle, evacuating women and children, then levelling their houses with heavy weaponry.
Since the strategic cooperation with Israel began in 1983, more than 90 exercises of the U.S. military have been held in lsrael. The Pentagon’s policy, imposed with the help of Israeli censorship, was usually to conceal their existence
The American military has been asking the Israeli army for advice on fighting inside cities, and studying fighting in the West Bank city of Jenin last April, unnamed United States and Israeli sources have confirmed … There were reports in the US and Israel media last November that American troops had been trained by Israeli instructors in a mock-up of a Palestinian city inside an army base in Israel. Those reports have been denied, but an unnamed Israeli source told the Associated Press that US officers did visit the mocked-up Palestinian city and attended a briefing on Israeli training methods.