DEALING WITH HARDCORE RESISTANCE IN IRAQ: As is becoming obvious from the periodic mass surrenders punctuated by ominous bursts of American firepower and racing advances of Coalition armored formations there is a constant stream of parleying between coalition and Iraqi forces. Working on a strategy to encourage surrender the Bush administration has some big legal guns in terms of international law precedents to wield against Iraqi units and leaders who elect to fight it out rather than surrendering.

President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair could opt to declare Saddam's key power bases - the Baath, the SRG, the RG, the Amn, the Mukhabbarat, the Fedayeen Saddam, certain " presidential bodyguard " formations to be " criminal organizations " as was done by the WWII Allies in the case of the Nazi Party, the SS, SD and Gestapo. Mere membership in this elite groups would subject members to a postwar trial or hearing before a court-martial or military tribunal along the lines of De-Nazification and Nuremburg.

Moreover, Iraqi leaders and high army officers are complicit in a litany of major crimes against humanity not least of which is genocide against the Kurds but a plausible case could be made under the Genocide Convention to include charges of genocide against the Iraqi Shiites and Marsh Arabs as well. As a Convention signatory, the United States is within its rights to punish these crimes against humanity without any additional authority from the UN. The Iraqis have also violated the Geneva Convention and American Occupation authorities could decide to extradite war criminals to face justice in Kuwait and Iran for actions taken during the Gulf War and the Iran-Iraq war.

I'm expecting hints along these lines from Secretary Rumsfeld or Secretary Powell any day now.


  ¶ 6:39 PM