Collective Punishment

Fallujah Iraq
33° 28' North; 48° 48' East

Pepe Escobar, writing in the Asia Times, has an interesting take on the situation in Fallujah:

" ...Whenever a neo-colonial power - or a puppet politician like interim Iraqi Premier Iyad Allawi - orders the widespread bombing of civilian areas, as in Fallujah, the rationale invoked is 'regrettable necessity'. What is never mentioned is the real objective: collective punishment."

It's a harsh conclusion because, if it is true there is little separate the current American administration and their 'Saddam without a mustache' Mr. Allawi from the worst of history's tyrants which is why it is forbidden by article 33 of that quaint little document, the Geneva convention, which states:

"No protected person may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed," and "collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited."

Note how the term terrorism has been turned on its head by BushCo and its minions.

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For more Escobar, which is very good, go here.