NEW CESR REPORT DOCUMENTS EXTENSIVE U.S. WAR CRIMES IN IRAQ
Purported "Transfer of Sovereignty" Condemned as Farce, Despite UN Resolution

The Bush Administration is committing war crimes and other serious violations of international law in Iraq as a matter of routine policy, according to a report released today by the Center for Economic and Social Rights. The report, Beyond Torture: U.S. Violations of Occupation Law in Iraq, documents ten categories of war crimes and rights violations regularly committed by U.S. forces.
http://www.cesr.org/beyondtorture.htm

"Torture is only the tip of the iceberg," said Roger Normand, an international lawyer who directs the Center. "From unlawful killings, mass arrests, and collective punishment to outright theft and pillage, the U.S. is violating almost every law intended to protect civilians living under foreign military occupation."

According to the report, these crimes are so entrenched in U.S. policies towards Iraq that they will end only when the occupation itself is ended. This would require withdrawal of U.S. troops and an end to U.S. control over Iraq's political, economic and military affairs. Absent these fundamental changes, the purported June 30th "transfer of sovereignty" to Iraqi authorities is "a form of political theatre with no legal effect" on U.S obligations as an occupying power, notwithstanding the diplomatic fig leaf provided by yesterday's UN Security Council resolution.