I guess someone needs to tell the Red Cross that while the images shown of the Iraqi POWs were of them being helped, searched or just being led away - none of them is interrogated on camera, there is no violence against them and none of the prisoners are identified.
As for the Iraqi side, we have already seen that some POWs were executed summarily, those alive were not being treated, but were interrogated on camera forcibly, were made to identify themselves on camera. Also, the stuff shown about the Iraqi POWs, was shot and broadcast by independent news channels, while the American POWs were interrogated by "Iraqi TV" and shown on Al-Jazeera.
IOL : Red Cross reminds war parties of POW terms
The Qatar-based Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera and Iraqi state television on Sunday broadcast images and interviews of US soldiers held by Iraq, along with images of several bodies, apparently dead US soldiers.Posted by shanti at March 24, 2003 3:09 PMIn recent days, other television stations have also broadcast footage showing Iraqis captured by American-British forces.
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This is hilarious…
Illegal war demands that Internation law be followed
Posted by: cypher at March 24, 2003 6:27 PM
Of course, cypher - the war can be considered legal or illegal depending on your view point. If the serious consequences threatened in the resolution 1441 are anything to go by, the war is not illegal.
Also, Iraq voluntarily signed on a cease-fire agreement with the UN and US in 1991, the terms of which it has violated - when you disrespect a cease-fire, the war automatically resumes and there is nothing remotely illegal about that :-)
Posted by: Shanti at March 24, 2003 7:14 PM
Summarily executed POW’s …. now how would you know that? “Shot in the head?” . Snipers can do that too you know. And they are plenty of them around taking shots at the Marines.
Those alive were not being treated …. what do you want the Iraqis to do? Get the POWs hale and hearty before showing them to the world. I guess they put them on the air in the condition they go them. Did you see a scratch on the Apache pilots?
Interrogated ‘forcibly’…. I didn’t see that; maybe they’re showing it on the US networks… not here though.
Identify themselves on camera…. the US kept denying that Iraq had POWs. The US stated that some journalists were missing and that Iraq probably had them. I guess, even I’d like to cock a snook at the mighty US by showing them that I had actual POW’s. By the way the Geneva convention allows them to state their name, rank, number.
And hey, there are no independant channels in Iraq; So they couldn’t do it with the so called independant channels. Incidentally the whole of Europe and the Arab world got to see the pictures, while the US government supressed the INDEPENDANT channels for quite a while. Not because of the Geneva convention (after all they are now airing the footage), but because they thought it would affect the morale of the troops, and Bush would look like an inept commander in chief.
We should put Bush and Saddam in the same room. The winner takes all!
And Shanti, if you were a lawyer, and I was on death row, I’d really want you to represent me. Honest ! That wasn’t meant to be sarcasm.
Posted by: bungler at March 25, 2003 9:47 AM
Bungler, I saw the Al-Jazeera video - it was gut-wrenching. The people killed by Iraq had shots in their groin and in their foreheads. Their pants were unzipped and pulled down. There were gun-powder marks on the faces of the soldiers with the forehead wounds, that are consistent with shooting from a close range.
One doesn’t need to get the POWs hale and hearty - one needs to let bleeding soldiers be and not make them sit up and answer questions on camera.
US did not suppress the footage for anything except a sense of decency that the families of the captured POWs should be notified, before they see the gruesome videos on TV. Gruesome, bloody footage is often not shown on US TV. 9/11 footage of people jumping off the towers for fear of being burned, the bloody pulp of people hitting the pavement, etc. were not run on the US TV, for the fear of offending the sensibilities of the people. There is no question such footage would have further inflamed the people, not bend their morale.
If you were on death row, I would definitely represent you - if I thought you were innocent :-)
Posted by: Shanti at March 25, 2003 11:37 AM
Aha, a real lawyer wouldn’t care if I were innocent or not ! BTW I am innocent, in case they ever try me for something.
Posted by: bungler at March 25, 2003 11:50 AM
Hey, if I were a lawyer, all my clients would be innocent, of course (wink, wink) - as for you, it depends a lot on how much you are worth :P
Posted by: Shanti at March 25, 2003 12:30 PM
Spoken like a true lawyer. As for me, I should start being nice to you. Just in case ;-)
Posted by: bungler at March 25, 2003 6:44 PM
Good idea :-)
Posted by: Shanti at March 25, 2003 10:22 PM