This week marked the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. The war left at least 800,000 to 1.1 million Iraqis dead, and certainly many more injured, maimed, and permanently displaced.
The invasion and subsequent military occupation destroyed Iraq’s once-modern infrastructure and much of its environment while shredding the country’s social fabric. The war gave rise to religious and ethnic divides, created unfathomable levels of corruption, left a legacy of sectarian militias and terrorist organizations including ISIS. War crimes by the U.S. military and private contractors, even beyond the initial crime of aggression, exploded from Abu Ghraib to Fallujah to Nisour Square and beyond.
This week the International Criminal Court in The Hague announced its war crimes indictment of the president of the country whose troops had invaded and occupied another country, and committed horrific war crimes. While we continue to call for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, we know that justice for war crimes—in all wars—remains an urgent necessity. The indictment of President Vladimir Putin is appropriate as the invasion of Ukraine was illegal and Russia’s ongoing assault and occupation of Ukrainian territory is a clear violation of international humanitarian law. U.S. …read more
Source:: Institute for Policy Studies
