War without thought

In fact, Rudd didn’t look carefully enough at the legitimacy of the invasion of Afghanistan. In February this year a paper prepared for Members of Parliament in the House of Commons “The legal basis for the invasion of Afghanistan” confirms that:

The military campaign in Afghanistan was not specifically mandated by the UN, but was widely (although not universally) perceived to be a legitimate form of self-defence under the UN Charter. ... The initial invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 was therefore not conducted with the authorisation of a specific UN Security Council Resolution. Instead, the United States and the United Kingdom said that military action against Afghanistan was undertaken under the provisions of Article 51 of the UN Charter, which recognises “the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence” if an armed attack occurs, and requires states to report such actions immediately ...

Phyllis Bennis, Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, said in a recent interview:

... Article 51 of the UN Charter that determines what is and is not self-defence does not apply here ... They [United States] got a UN Resolution within 24 hours ... but [it] did not authorise the use of force ...

Her opinion is reinforced by the carefully worded House of Commons report.

The ongoing justification based on “self-defence” is over the top: neither our actions nor those of the US are even remotely proportional to the harm threatened by terrorists on Australian or American soil.

Where is the outcry about this conduct? Where is the outrage? Where were and are the media? The Australian public has been lied to and still the silent majority sits in complacent silence. Why are our members of parliament not calling for an immediate inquiry into the legality of the invasion of Afghanistan? Isn't it about time we had a serious public debate about the need for parliamentary approval before governments send Australian troops to war? The war continues, the death toll of young Australians and innocent civilians continues to grow and we accept it.

Instead of focusing on real issues and root causes our politicians distract us with a shameful hysteria surrounding “boat people”, people who in many cases have been driven from their families, their homes and their land because of our very own actions or inaction.

The blanket of silence, the de facto censorship surrounding the facts and circumstances of “the war in Afghanistan” is obscene. Every Australian who chooses to remain ignorant or sits silent in the face of this orchestrated and unjustified and murderous invasion is complicit by his or her failure to speak or act.

Of course, it doesn’t help that media reporting is so shallow. Where have we heard in the “news” about the International Criminal Tribunal for Afghanistan in Tokyo where George Bush was charged with crimes against Afghanistan? In March 2004 the ICTAT found George Bush guilty of attacking civilians with indiscriminate weapons and other arms during the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and issued orders banning depleted uranium and other weapons.

Even though the findings of this “unofficial people’s tribunal” are not binding the information unearthed by its investigations is disturbing to say the least: blatant lies, concealment of information, and death and destruction writ large. The Tribunal’s determination warrants close examination, particularly in relation to its findings about the use of depleted uranium weapons, the use of Cluster Bombs and Daisy Cutters and the torture of prisoners. All conduct that is disturbingly reminiscent of the horrors that led to large scale global protests to end the war in Vietnam.

It was particularly interesting to note that Major Doug Rokke, Director of the Depleted Uranium (DU) project from 1994 to 1995, told the Tribunal that: