The Common Ills: Iraq: At least 423 violent deaths so far this month

As his assault on Anbar Province continues, so do Nouri al-Maliki's War Crimes. The thug and prime minister of Iraq continues to resort to the crime of collective punishment. Today that means his military shelling of Falluja residential neighborhoods today left 1 child dead, two children injured, one woman injured and one man injured.

Collective punishment is illegal and defined as a War Crime. When Nouri practices collective punishment, he is in violation of the following:

I. Treaties

Hague Regulations (1899)

Article 50 of the 1899 Hague Regulations provides: “No general penalty, pecuniary or otherwise, can be inflicted on the population on account of the acts of individuals for which it cannot be regarded as collectively responsible.”

Hague Regulations (1907)

Article 50 of the 1907 Hague Regulations provides: “No general penalty, pecuniary or otherwise, shall be inflicted upon the population on account of the acts of individuals for which they cannot be regarded as jointly and severally responsible.”

Geneva POW Convention

Article 46, fourth paragraph, of the 1929 Geneva POW Convention provides: “Collective penalties for individual acts are also prohibited.”

Geneva Convention III

Article 26, sixth paragraph, of the 1949 Geneva Convention III states: “Collective disciplinary measures affecting food are prohibited.” Article 87, third paragraph, of the 1949 Geneva Convention III provides that “[c]ollective punishment for individual acts” is forbidden.

Geneva Convention IV

Article 33, first paragraph, of the 1949 Geneva Convention IV provides: “Collective penalties … are prohibited.”

Additional Protocol I

Article 75(2)(d) of the 1977 Additional Protocol I provides: “The following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever, whether committed by civilian or by military agents: … collective punishments”.

Additional Protocol II

Article 4(2)(b) of the 1977 Additional Protocol II provides: “The following acts against the persons referred to in paragraph I are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever: … collective punishments”.

Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone

Article 3 of the 2002 Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone provides: The Special Court shall have the power to prosecute persons who committed or ordered the commission of serious violations of article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 for the Protection of War Victims, and of Additional Protocol II thereto of 8 June 1977. These violations shall include:

Nouri is a War Criminal. By continuing to arm him, the White House is an accessory in War Crimes. It's a fact that eludes David Palkki.

Jane Arraf has a semi-decent article on Anbar today -- see what happens when she writes for an outlet with actual guidelines?

Bad news for Brett McGurk. Next time he tries to distract Congress from the Ashraf community, he may be asked about this report by Sohrab Ahmari (Wall Street Journal):

Sometime in the past six months, the government of Nouri al-Maliki buried 52 bodies in an undisclosed location in Iraq. The 46 men and six women had been members of the Mujahedeen-e Khalq, an Iranian opposition group that since 1986 has maintained a presence inside Iraq. They were killed in an assault last fall on Camp Ashraf, the MEK's historic base roughly 60 miles north of Baghdad.