I finally read the editorial I’ve been expecting to read since the war began (sorry, no link, as it was in the print edition of the Post Gazette). The US military has been talking a lot lately of how the Iraqis are mistreating prisoners of war, and how they are dressing like civilians and waving a white flag then firing on US troops. The editorial asks why the US suddenly expects international law to be upheld when they disregarded the international community when they started this war. While I think the argument is a bit of stretch, it does have a valid point.

First, a counterpoint. It’s hard to say that the US action in Iraq is “illegal”, since there is no real international legislative body. The US did disregard the United Nations in starting this action (as did Bill Clinton in the late 1990s when he launched a three day missle attack on Baghdad), but they broke no international law in doing so. Angering the United Nations does not equal breaking the law.

Now, why would the US military expect Iraq to play by the rules of war? Aren’t we going to war with them precisely because they don’t play by the rules? Doesn’t Saddam Hussein kill his own people for speaking out against him? This is really just an attempt to get the international community to rally around the US cause.

The editorial also points out that the way the US is treating Afghan prisoners from the action there is prohibited by the Geneva Convention. But…the US has already sidestepped this issue with their own distortion of how they define what sort of prisoners they are. The US is bending the rules for their own benefit.

Posted on 31 March 2003