War of aggression
 War of aggression  (war, war crime)   | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | legal |
| Initiating a war of aggression supposedly has a special place in international law, but in practice, this doesn't seem to apply to the "United States" ... | |
A war of aggression, sometimes also war of conquest, is a military conflict waged without the justification of self-defense, usually for territorial gain and subjugation, in contrast with the concept of a just war.
History
The Rome Statute contains an exhaustive list of acts of aggression that can give rise to individual criminal responsibility, which include invasion, military occupation, annexation by the use of force, bombardment, and military blockade of ports. The concept of supreme crime is a legal principle that a war waged other than in self-defense, (called a "war of aggression" in international law) is more egregious than any other international crime. The term was introduced by Justice Robert H. Jackson, chief prosecutor for the United States at the Nuremberg Trials.[1] During the trials he stated:
To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.[2]
Problems
This high sounding principle does not seem to be carried out in practice. George Monbiot, noting that Tony Blair waged "an unprovoked war, described by the Nuremberg tribunal as "the supreme international crime" – looks incontestable", wrote in 2009 that "I have spent the past three days trying to discover, from legal experts all over Europe, where the crime of aggression can be prosecuted. The only certain answer is that the situation is unclear. Everyone agrees that within the EU two states, Estonia and Latvia, have incorporated it into domestic law. In most of the others, the law remains to be tested. In 2005 the German federal administrative court ruled in favor of an army major who had refused to obey an order in case it implicated him in the Iraq war. The court's justification was that the war was a crime of aggression."[3]
Examples
| Page name | Description |
|---|---|
| 2003 Iraq War | A war for oil carried out after "Operation Mass Appeal" an MI6-backed propaganda campaign. |
| 2011 Attacks on Libya | "Perhaps one of the most egregious examples of US military aggression and lawlessness in recent memory", carried out under a pretext of "humanitarian intervention". |
Related Quotation
| Page | Quote | Author |
|---|---|---|
| War | “The first atrocity, the first war crime committed in any war of aggression by the aggressors is against the truth.” | Michael Parenti |
Related Document
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:The 20-year war on Afghanistan was a mistake | Speech | 18 August 2021 | Zarah Sultana | Speaking outside Parliament on 18 August 2021, prior to the Afghanistan emergency debate, Zarah Sultana joined colleagues including Jeremy Corbyn to say: "The war on Afghanistan shows – once and for all – that the West cannot deliver liberal democracy at the barrel of a gun. This war – the first 'War on Terror' – must be Britain's last war of aggression." |
References
- ↑ Gabrielle Kirk McDonald and Olivia Swaak-Goldman (2000). Substantive and Procedural Aspects of International Criminal Law: The Experience of International and National Courts. Brill. p. 33. ISBN 978-90-411-1133-3.
- ↑ The Nuremberg principles- Wikipedia page July 2015
- ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/oct/26/making-blair-eu-president-crazy
