General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: My only post on the ME crisis [View all]nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)That actually dealt with this day in and day out? Or the fact that I know how easy it is to lose that neutrality? When one of my crews got an armed (injured) Lt into the back of the clearly marked ambulance with his side arm and battle rifle, we were no longer neutral. We got there later...boy was I pissed!!!!
I made a show of returning those two items to his Colonel. When the round went through the ambulance we used to drive him to the hospital we were no longer neutral, thank you very much. Charges, due to that mistake by scared shitless young medics were never filed against the sniper. Oh there were charges, but not for shooting at a clearly marked ambulance.
That happened in a fairly low intensity conflict, nothing like this one.
Oh kids went to remedial class and I did lodge a pretty official complaint with the military zone commander and his legal office, with copies to Geneva and Mexico City.
You are reading words...I know what those words mean. A war crime, is a war crime, is a war crime. It matters little if you are the most powerful nation in the world (Abu Graib comes to mind) or a member of a unit storing your bombs in a vacant facility that is neutral otherwise anywhere in the world. You do indeed risk the other side bombing other equal facilities, because quite frankly, you and me have no way to know what their intel service thinks there is in that facility. And I doubt they will tell us if we ask either.
Nor does that mean Israel has not targeted civilians m'kay. In fact, both sides have. Both sides have continued to do such.
Oh and most war crimes will never, ever like never, be prosecuted. It's not as if there is a war crime cop issuing tickets.
And when they are...yeehaw, the dust came off the Rios Mont file for genocide...oh he is too old and cannot really serve time, bad, bad Rios Mont, don't ever do that again! (That be Guatemala, the 1980s and the Maya Genocide. I actually debriefed one of his victims...I am sure that kid, now adult, is really impressed with ladino justice, not. Suffice to say, I was pissed he was not given one day behind bars.)
So it is what it is.
Why this is the only OP I will post on this. Quite frankly, I would prefer the wall and banging my head on it. And yes, mine is an informed perspective.