Mennonite World Review:Is Barack Obama A War Criminal?

Mennonite World Review:Is Barack Obama A War Criminal?



http://mennoworld.org/2015/05/11/letters/war-crimes/

War crimes

Would it go beyond the pale to ask if our president is a war criminal? According to the blog, “Pray for U.S.,” as of March 18, 2013, President Obama had killed 204 children by drone attacks. On average, Obama killed one child every other day in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. One example of Obama’s wanton and reckless killing of children and civilians occurred on Dec. 17, 2009, in Al Majata, Yemen, where 44 civilians, including 22 children between the ages of 1 and 17, were killed, as reported by the Yemeni government. In this attack the U.S. was able to confirm the death of only one terrorist, and he was not the one they were looking for. Among the dead were the Louqye children: six daughters, aged 1, 3, 4, 6, 9 and 15; and at least two sons, aged 4 and 13. Also killed were the Nassar children: five daughters, aged 2, 4, 5, 7 and 9. Besides the deaths of these children, five of the dead women were pregnant. Entire families have been wiped out in strikes authorized by Obama. A final note in the “Pray for U.S.” blog: “We are not at war with Yemen, Pakistan or Somalia. It is illegal for Barack Obama to be carrying out drone strikes in these nations. These acts are war crimes, plain and simple, and deserving of prosecution and punishment.”

E. Daniel Riehl
Lititz, Pa.

joetroyer2 • 5 days ago

Well I do not have all the rules of law. It is definitely awful and ugly. I am sure GW and Obama have committed war crimes. Going back to illegal wars, torture and the slaughter of 1000's of civilians. Maybe the better question is how much does the church need to own for our compliance in these atrocities? We have worshipped at the feet of safety and security. we stood quietly by or even vocally supported our govt acts of violence. How have we, the church, supported war crimes by our silence no matter our political party? That might be a better discussion in my opinion.

berryfriesen  joetroyer2 • 4 days ago

Joe, of course we pay for it with our FIT. That's one obvious way we are complicit.

A second is our cheering for either a Republican or a Democrat for President every four years. At least since GW and Obama's first term, we know both major parties will use unlawful means (including war crimes) to achieve imperial goals.

Paul Krugman calls the US invasion of Irag "a crime" (NYT, May 18). IMO, what the US has done to the Lybian, Syrian and Ukrainian peoples are three more crimes of similar magnitude to the crime in Iraq. By "crime" I mean deliberate actions to cause widespread death and the destruction of civil society without any justifying claim of self-defense.

Increasingly, evidence suggests that even Daesh (AKA ISIS) fits the category of a US crime. Read the May 21 report in MoonOfAlabama dot org for details.

President Bush and President Obama should be put on trial for their crimes. Instead, most people I know continue to say that despite their many faults, our recent presidents have done the best they can to do good in a chaotic world. That is our point of greatest moral complicity with evil; we refuse to admit what a horror our nation has become.

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