The Jury says: GUILTY

The World Tribunal on Iraq heard testimony from 54 witnesses from around the world.
Printed versions of many of the testimonials are available on the WTI website:
http://www.worldtribunal.org

I watched the highlights on Free Speech TV and have read many of the testimonials.
The testimony include a wide range of topics including the deceit practiced by the US and UK governments, the lack of WMDs in Iraq, effects of UN sanctions, destruction of Iraqi infrastructure, devastation of the Iraqi state and society, the ecological destruction and contamination, the 100,000 dead civilians, the 60,000 being held in US custody without charges, the thousands of people that have disappeared, torture and mistreatment of prisoners, the privatization of the Iraq economy, and much much more.

The WTI jury has found that the US and UK governments conducted “a war of aggression in contravention of the United Nations Charter and the Nuremberg Principles”, that “Intelligence was manufactured to willfully deceive the people of the US, the UK, and their elected representatives”, that attacks on the Iraqi civilian population and infrastructure was in violation of the Geneva Conventions as well as the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights, that the US and UK used “Using disproportionate force and indiscriminate weapon systems, such as cluster munitions, incendiary bombs, depleted uranium (DU), and chemical weapons,” “Failing to safeguard the lives of civilians during military activities and during the occupation period thereafter,” “Imposing punishments without charge or trial, including collective punishment, on the people of Iraq, in violation of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Geneva Conventions, and customary international law requiring due process,” “Subjecting Iraqi soldiers and civilians to torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in violation of the Geneva Conventions, the ICCPR, other treaties and covenants, and customary international law. Degrading treatment includes subjecting Iraqi soldiers and civilians to acts of racial, ethnic, religious, and gender discrimination, as well as denying Iraqi soldiers Prisoner of War status as required by the Geneva Convention”, “Willfully devastating the environment, contaminating it by depleted uranium (DU) weapons, combined with the plumes from burning oil wells, as well as huge oil spills, and destroying agricultural lands,” “Redefining torture in violation of international law, to allow use of torture and illegal detentions, including holding more than 500 people at Guantánamo Bay without charging them or allowing them any access to legal protection, and using “extraordinary renditions” to send people to torture in other countries known to commit human rights abuses and torture prisoners,” and much, much, much more.

The WTI jury recommends “1. The immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the coalition forces from Iraq; 2. That coalition governments make war reparations and pay compensation to Iraq for the humanitarian, economic, ecological, and cultural devastation they have caused by their illegal invasion and occupation; 3. That all laws, contracts, treaties, and institutions established under occupation which the Iraqi people deem inimical to their interests, should be considered null and void; 4. That the Guantanamo Bay prison and all other offshore US military prisons be closed immediately; that the names of the prisoners be disclosed, that they receive POW status, and receive due process; 5. That there be an exhaustive investigation of those responsible for crimes of aggression and crimes against humanity in Iraq, beginning with George W. Bush, President of the United States of America; Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; and other government officials from the coalition of the willing; 6. That we initiate a process of accountability to hold those morally and personally responsible for their participation in this illegal war, such as journalists who deliberately lied, corporate media outlets that promoted racial, ethnic and religious hatred, and CEOs of multinational corporations that profited from this war; 7. That people throughout the world launch actions against US and UK corporations that directly profit from this war. Examples of such corporations include Halliburton, Bechtel, Carlyle, CACI Inc., Titan Corporation, Kellog, Brown and Root (subsidiary of Halliburton), DynCorp, Boeing, ExxonMobil, Texaco, British Petroleum. The following companies have sued Iraq and received “reparation awards”: Toys R Us, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Shell, Nestlé, Pepsi, Phillip Morris, Sheraton, Mobil. Such actions may take the form of direct actions such as shutting down their offices, consumer boycotts, and pressure on shareholders to divest. 8. That soldiers exercise conscience and refuse to enlist and participate in an illegal war. Also that countries provide conscientious objectors political asylum. 9. That the international campaign for dismantling all US military bases abroad be reinforced. 10. That people around the world resist and reject any effort by any of their governments to provide material, logistical, or moral support to the occupation of Iraq.”

They even present evidence of active participation in the corporate media in spreading deliberate falsehoods and failing to adequately investigate the government’s misinformation.

I find it disturbing that American corporate media have given no coverage to the WTI proceedings. There has been plenty of coverage in other parts of the world. Run a Google or Yahoo news search, the results are telling. And the position of our corporate media in America is apparent—their silence speaks very loudly to those who take the time to sample news coverage from other countries.