War Crimes Tribunal Issues Its Judgements

One might ask: Are tribunals legal, meaning do they have the force of the rule of law? Remember the famous Bertrand Russell War Crimes Tribunal (1964-7) during the Vietnam War? Tribunal members then unanimously found the United States “guilty on all charges, including genocide, the use of forbidden weapons, and maltreatment and killing of prisoners.” Bertrand Russell stated at the time, “We do not represent any State power, nor can we compel the policymakers responsible for crimes against the people of Vietnam to stand accused before us. We lack force majeure. The procedures of a trial are impossible to implement. I believe that these apparent limitations are, in fact, virtues. We are free to conduct a solemn and historic investigation, uncompelled by reasons of State or other such obligations.”

The same “virtues” apply in the recently completed Merchants of Death Tribunal.

Testifying were Dr. Cornel West, Richard Falk, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Norman Solomon, and John Pilger. They examined war crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Gaza, and Yemen. They also explored the role of lobbying, think tanks, the “revolving door,” and other means by which these predatory capitalists enrich themselves through war.

At the final press conference, jurors gave their supportive explanations. Please read their statements here and supply yourself with the facts and figures revealing the crimes of our genocidal government so you can talk back eloquently in the months to come using this study guide.

Juror Rania Masri was especially eloquent. She is from “the artificially divided land of Greater Syria” and has worked for the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network (NCEJN). Masri served as an expert in the Court of Conscience, where she presented testimony on the environmental impact of the 2006 Israeli War on Lebanon. During the press conference, she reminded us that “in 1914, despite major opposition, Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of war. The politicians defied the people they were supposed to represent. Why? J.P. Morgan, one of the largest investment banking firms in the world, later celebrated that profit motives drove US involvement in World War I.”

WILPF was involved in the interim years between the wars to try to understand the causes of World War I and to agitate against starting World War II. Our WILPF Executive Director, Dorthy Detzer, played an important role in the Nye Committee, officially known as the Special Committee on Investigation of the Munitions Industry (1934), by convincing Senator Nye to become head of the committee. Masri quoted the Senator’s condemnation of weapons manufacturers: they are “international racketeers, bent upon gaining profit through a game of arming the world to fight itself.”

She added: “Almost one hundred years later, their horrors have only grown.”

WILPF US’ DISARM Committee and our in-house investigative journalist Charlotte Dennett have long tried to charge not just the illegally acting corporations but also their CEOs and Board of Directors. Masri listed them (over the past several decades):

(1) The CEOs of Lockheed Martin: Vance Coffman, Robert Stevens, Marilyn Hewson, and James Taiclet
(2) The CEOs of Boeing: Philip Condit, Harry Stonecipher, James McNerney, Dennis Muilenberg, David Calhoun, and Robert Ortberg
(3) The CEOs of RTX/Raytheon: Daniel Burnham, William Swanson, Thomas Kennedy, Gregory Hayes, and Christopher Calio
(4) The CEO of General Atomics: Neal Blue

They all aided and abetted the US government in the commission of international war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

We strive to hold them accountable.

Actions WILPF Members Can Take to Hold Weapons Companies Accountable

One of the DISARM Committee’s several campaigns is to get institutions and individuals to divest their investment portfolios from the many weapons companies that help make the US’ nuclear weapons arsenal. We are part of the Warheads to Windmills coalition and direct your attention to their detailed toolkit of strategies and reasons for divesting from weapons manufacturers.

Start locally with your city council. Many towns and cities have investments that support the companies that make nuclear weapons. Many have contracts for products or services made by these companies. Some also have these companies researching, developing, building, or transporting nuclear weapons through their jurisdiction.

Boycotting, divesting, and prohibiting these activities can directly affect those companies and can also strongly encourage other cities and states to do the same.

Here is a draft resolution you could use for your town and encourage your city leaders to pass.

Please Join Our Disarm/End Wars Issue Committee

WE WELCOME NEW MEMBERS to our committee. We meet by Zoom on the second and last Sundays of each month at 4:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET. To receive the Zoom link and request to join the DISARM listserv, write to disarmchair@wilpfus.org.