www.theoxfordscientist.com
... First NATO troops on the ground in the Ukraine,
and as a result, the world, as we know it, has changed
_ _ _
but it seems the blatantly Conservative Canadian press did not get the 'Operation UNIFIER'
memo, witness the headlines: 'NATO embarks on greatest overhaul since WWII
(others say Cold War), but Canada's role uncertain.'
What we have here on full display is the animus
the Conservative press holds for Trudeau, and by implication Liberals, en general,
getting in the way of honest reporting. Reporting that actually requires there to be
a strong association between facts and the conclusions drawn from them.
If, the Conservative press was capable of feeling or even exhibiting a sense of shame,
surely the recent revelations, streaming from the 1/6 Select Committee, would at least give
the Conservative press reason for pause, and an opportunity to rethink the praise they
heaped upon the mob that descended on Ottawa brandishing their Trump-hate banners.
But alas, there is a fitting term for those who cannot feel or exhibit a sense of shame.
And that is not new, or breaking news.
_ _
It always begins with sending in military advisors. Truman was the first US President
to send military advisors to Vietnam, and over a decade later, JFK expanded
advisory assistance to Vietnam substantially, then came the Gulf of Tonkin incident,
followed by the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, and from there ...
With the acceptance of Ukraine's EU candidacy, and the admittance of Finland and
Sweden to the NATO alliance, coming as it does in the midst of a bloody all-out
military incursion by Russia, attention is now drawn to the mutual obligations
that come with EU candidacy status and the expansion of the alliance. Putin is
obliged to re-think his western-front strategy, dramatically and urgently.
The message from NATO and the European Union is crystal clear:
we will not surrender the Ukraine.
But make no mistake about it, just as there are those who remember vividly,
just what they were doing when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, and a
decade later the events of 9/11. Mark your calendars, and remember June 2022,
because that is when the first NATO troops entered the Ukraine, in direct
opposition to Russian troops on the ground in the Ukraine.
and as a result, the world, as we know it, has changed
_ _ _
but it seems the blatantly Conservative Canadian press did not get the 'Operation UNIFIER'
memo, witness the headlines: 'NATO embarks on greatest overhaul since WWII
(others say Cold War), but Canada's role uncertain.'
What we have here on full display is the animus
the Conservative press holds for Trudeau, and by implication Liberals, en general,
getting in the way of honest reporting. Reporting that actually requires there to be
a strong association between facts and the conclusions drawn from them.
If, the Conservative press was capable of feeling or even exhibiting a sense of shame,
surely the recent revelations, streaming from the 1/6 Select Committee, would at least give
the Conservative press reason for pause, and an opportunity to rethink the praise they
heaped upon the mob that descended on Ottawa brandishing their Trump-hate banners.
But alas, there is a fitting term for those who cannot feel or exhibit a sense of shame.
And that is not new, or breaking news.
_ _
It always begins with sending in military advisors. Truman was the first US President
to send military advisors to Vietnam, and over a decade later, JFK expanded
advisory assistance to Vietnam substantially, then came the Gulf of Tonkin incident,
followed by the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, and from there ...
With the acceptance of Ukraine's EU candidacy, and the admittance of Finland and
Sweden to the NATO alliance, coming as it does in the midst of a bloody all-out
military incursion by Russia, attention is now drawn to the mutual obligations
that come with EU candidacy status and the expansion of the alliance. Putin is
obliged to re-think his western-front strategy, dramatically and urgently.
The message from NATO and the European Union is crystal clear:
we will not surrender the Ukraine.
But make no mistake about it, just as there are those who remember vividly,
just what they were doing when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, and a
decade later the events of 9/11. Mark your calendars, and remember June 2022,
because that is when the first NATO troops entered the Ukraine, in direct
opposition to Russian troops on the ground in the Ukraine.
Why, Putin invaded the Ukraine
In essence, Putin rose to power on the promise to - make Russia strong again -.
Putin has touted the compromise of a former American president, American, British,
Canadian, French and German political parties & news media, and inspired some 24% of the
American, British, Canadian, French & German adult populations to work against their own
national interests. The invasion of the Ukraine was also a tour de force, instigated by Putin
to demonstrate to the Russian people that a strong Russian leader could halt the eastward
expansion of the European Union and NATO.
And this is what Putin has put forward to the Russian people, as his sterling achievements.
However, these successes are, at best, fleeting, and remembering that it is the state of the
economy that is the true measure ultimately, for the people at-large, of national strength,
and Putin's economy that has now defaulted on its foreign debts, is a train wreck. And the
expansion of the European Union and NATO is an inescapable reality.
Having failed to show any lasting political prowess in the international sphere, & facing growing
& persistent domestic challenges to his shambolic leadership, Putin, in order to project strength,
and to overcome the aura of being a weak head of state, overseeing an utterly weak economy,
launched an unprovoked assault on the people of the Ukraine, believing foolishly that the Ukrainian
people would greet his 'silk glove' invasion with flowers, and hail Putin (Russia) as their savior.
And, thereby, Putin would have achieved his stated goal of demonstrating the strength of Russia,
under his inspired, albeit delusional, and lackluster leadership.
And that, in essence, is why Putin invaded the Ukraine
E LaMont Gregory MSc Oxon
... any, deliberate, willful or systemic attacks upon civilians, is a crime against humanity, a war crime
... chemical weapons are already being used in the Ukraine,
in violation of the Geneva Protocol
In essence, the Geneva Conventions, are treaties, international legal agreements, concerned with the treatment of non-combatants, i.e., civilians, prisoners of war, and soldiers, who are otherwise rendered hors de combat, which is a French phrase, which literally means, outside the fight.
The Conventions, acknowledge that there may well be, perhaps inevitably, some causalities among civilians, termed non-combatants in a theatre of war, but and however, civilians are not to be deliberately and specifically targeted by combatants, that is, by soldiers, who are in the fight. Any, deliberate, wilful or systemic attack upon civilians, is a crime against humanity, a war crime.
The Conventions, acknowledge that there may well be, perhaps inevitably, some causalities among civilians, termed non-combatants in a theatre of war, but and however, civilians are not to be deliberately and specifically targeted by combatants, that is, by soldiers, who are in the fight. Any, deliberate, wilful or systemic attack upon civilians, is a crime against humanity, a war crime.
... the case against Slobodan Milošević
As we build the case against Vladimir Putin for war crimes in the Ukraine, it might be useful, remembering that all knowledge is comparative, to review the indictment of Slobodan Milošević on charges of crimes against humanity and other specific war crimes.
Slobodan Milošević was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for crimes against humanity in Kosovo, in the year 1999. Milošević was charged for violations of the laws and customs of war, violations of international humanitarian law, as it were, which constitute grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. Additional indictments for crimes in Croatia and Bosnia and genocide in Bosnia were added a year and a half after the initial indictments were handed down.
The specific charges for which Milošević was indicted, include: genocide; complicity in genocide; deportation; murder; persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds; inhumane acts/forcible transfer; extermination; imprisonment; torture; wilful killing; unlawful confinement; wilfully causing great suffering; unlawful deportation or transfer; extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly; cruel treatment; plunder of public or private property; attacks on civilians; destruction or wilful damage done to historic monuments and institutions, including those dedicated to education or religion, and unlawful attacks on civilian objects.
... the case against Vladimir Putin
... chemical weapons are already being used in the Ukraine
... chemical weapons are already being used in the Ukraine
|
|
... the Geneva Conventions, and the Geneva Protocol, prohibit either of the Russian military weapons,
pictured above, being used in anyway whatsoever against civilian, non-combatant, populations.
... particular attention is drawn to the description in the lower righthand corner of the weapon on the right above.
'A secondary explosion then ignites this spreading cloud of oxygen and chemicals, generating heat and blast waves
that can penetrate buildings and shelters.'
A person caught in the spreading cloud of oxygen and chemicals when it explodes, would be vaporized.
Summation, chemical weapons are already being used in the Ukraine, contravening the Geneva Protocol.
pictured above, being used in anyway whatsoever against civilian, non-combatant, populations.
... particular attention is drawn to the description in the lower righthand corner of the weapon on the right above.
'A secondary explosion then ignites this spreading cloud of oxygen and chemicals, generating heat and blast waves
that can penetrate buildings and shelters.'
A person caught in the spreading cloud of oxygen and chemicals when it explodes, would be vaporized.
Summation, chemical weapons are already being used in the Ukraine, contravening the Geneva Protocol.
In the indictment of Milošević, detailed above, one ought to pay particular attention to the accusation that Milošević wilfully caused great suffering, and extensive destruction of property, not justified by military necessity. And further, carried out unlawfully and wantonly, the deliberate destruction of public and private property, and carried out deliberate systematic attacks on civilians as part of the war campaign, which is prohibited.
The deliberate destruction of the landmark Hotel Ukraine, in Chernihiv, near the Belarus border, some 90 kilometers north of the capital Kyiv, is a proscribed act, under international humanitarian law, and will be specifically numerated in the war crimes attributable to Vladimir Putin.
command responsibility
Some of the charges levied against Milošević relate to him as an individual, while other aspects of the indictment, as will be the case with Putin, concern what is known as their command responsibility.
Milošević, was indicted for his part in ordering, planning, and instigating, as well as, aiding and abetting toward planning, the preparation to execute crimes, while the actual commission of the crimes, exists in reference to participating in the criminal enterprise that planned, instigated and prepared to commit the crimes contrary to international humanitarian law, and not for being physically present and personally responsible for the commission of the crimes that occurred on the battlefield.
This understanding of international humanitarian law, will play a pivotal role in the indictment of Vladimir Putin. It is understood that, there was no evidence that Milošević personally - participated in the realization of the criminal objective - resulting from the planning and preparation to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, which actually resulted in fact and in law, nor was it necessary that he was so engaged.
Milošević was indicted for, his actions before the fact, related to his command responsibility. The significance of the phrase, heavy is the head that wears the crown.
Further, Milošević was, and Putin will be, indicted for failure of his command responsibility, as a superior for acts done by subordinates, where as a superior he was aware, and knew that his subordinates were on the verge of violating international
humanitarian law, and committing war crimes; and that as a commander, a superior, he failed to undertake measures to stop the criminal actions, and to punish the perpetrators, thereof.
Command responsibility was held by Milošević, and is held by Putin, by virtue of their positions, along with the control and power, associated with command, which neither has shown due regard towards the command responsivity their positions demand, to see that international humanitarian laws are faithfully adhered to.
NB: Milošević - war crimes and crimes against humanity, in narrative form read, Chapter 4, An End to War, - THE ULTIMATE VANISHING ACT - ISBN: 978-1-62857-662-7 - available on Kindle, click here to order from Amazon -
Chapter four - An End to War - of the book 'The Ultimate Vanishing Act' includes the following "... the Rome Statute established four core international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression, and that is precisely the arena that we wish to pursue in relation to ..." And, for anyone interested in this subject, the Rome Statute is an excellent place to begin. This is the in-depth understanding that one not is likely to gain from the newsreaders on their cable and broadcast news outlets.
However, if one wants to gain insight into how matters of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression, the Rome Statute, work their way through the corridors, in which these matters are raised, and sometimes do, and at times do not, find there way into actual indictments and trials, kindly consult the pages provided from Chapter 4, An End to War, at the following url:
Naturally, one is encouraged to read the text in full.
Alternatively, one can continue the dwell in the right-leaning, Republican largely, world of Fox News, Ingraham and Hannity;
little Fox news (CNN), Blitzer and Tapper; or sly Fox news (MSNBC), with Wallace and O'Donnell.
And, under those circumstances, without expert guidance, and a lot of research and thought, never understand the issues, at all.
- in process - bookmark this page -
future article:
An open letter to Ottawa Police Chief Bell
... please, help preserve respect for the rule of law, resign now
-- watch this space, for link --
An open letter to Ottawa Police Chief Bell
... please, help preserve respect for the rule of law, resign now
-- watch this space, for link --
... we are not, helpless, and yet, the St Louis is still out to sea
... in a pandemic, as in war, a deterrent is always better than a response
