Jon Queally at Common Dreams writes—'Grand American Tradition of Immunizing Its War Criminals' Continues as Trump Pardons US Soldiers:
Continuing what critics of U.S. imperialism have long said is a pattern of refusing accountability for violations of international law and a litany of war crimes over recent decades, President Donald Trump on Friday night issued full pardons for three U.S. soldiers either accused or convicted of serious criminal abuses related to their military service.
Outrage among peace activists and opponents of the U.S. war machine was immediate.
"Utterly shameful," said Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU's National Security Project.
"With this use of his powers, Trump has sent a clear message of disrespect for law, morality, the military justice system, and those in the military who abide by the laws of war," said Shamsi. "I would include the victims of these crimes but have no illusion he cares for them."
Journalist and activist Glenn Greenwald, longtime critic of the so-called "global war on terror" and repeated U.S. violations of international law, tweeted: "The grand American tradition of immunizing its war criminals—while preaching morality to the world—continues with these vile pardons by Trump."[...]
As the Post points out, the pardons were issued against the stated desires of the Pentagon. In the case of Lorance, as The New York Times reports, it was members of the officer's own unit that turned against him after a massacre in Afghanistan. "Mr. Lorance was a rookie Army lieutenant who had been in command of a platoon in Afghanistan for two days in July 2012 when he ordered his troops to fire on unarmed villagers who posed no threat, killing two men," the Times reports. "He then called in false reports over the radio to cover up what had happened. He was immediately turned in by his own men."
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QUOTATION
“But witnesses incur responsibilities, as anyone who has ever seen a traffic accident and had to go to court to testify, knows. In the new world of globally televised war crimes, the defense of 'not knowing,' or neutrality, will dissolve for everyone. To be a witness or bystander is not a value-free choice but, inadvertently, a moral position; and in this sense the 'guilt' of people who live with the memory of crimes committed by members of their families, or communities, has been unwittingly extended to everyone who watches appalling pictures on the news.”
~~Erna Paris, Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History, 2001
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At Daily Kos on this date in 2016—Foes of Iran nuke deal take a baby step back. They don't want Trump to keep his vow to dismantle it:
Back in March, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas composed a letter to Iranian leaders regarding the nuclear deal that would soon be approved by the United States, Iran and five other nations. The letter was signed by 46 other Republican senators. It warned that they would "consider any agreement regarding your nuclear-weapons program that is not approved by the Congress as nothing more than an executive agreement between President Obama and Ayatollah Khamenei. The next president could revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time."
Cotton would still like to see that revocation or unilateral modification happen. But he’s in a minority even among those who spoke loudest against the agreement.
The matter doesn’t appear on Donald Trump’s list of things to do on Day One of his presidency. But it could be added.
Unlike so many other issues, Trump has been less contradictory in his statements on the nuclear deal, which lifted economic sanctions in exchange for Iran dismantling parts of its nuclear development program. He has called it “the worst deal ever negotiated,” one that he would do over if elected. His strongest statement came last March when he told the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC that his “No. 1 priority” would be to “dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran.”