I’m just getting bored with this thread and I’m not really interested in starting another debate on morality. But basically, in other many countries there is a lot of official corruption, like crooked politicians using their position to benefit themselves and their associates or cops openly demanding bribes on a regular basis. That, plus war, crime, and weak economies makes life difficult over there. In the west, we have a breakdown of the family structure, men demanding to use women’s bathrooms, and all types of other things along those lines.
Everywhere is fucked up to some degree, but not in the same way. To me it seems like things are going steadily downhill, but other people would call this “progress”. I suppose it depends on what you value in life.
But really, I’m bored with this thread. People keep replying so I respond, but we are pretty much just running in circles at this point.
The controversial website WikiLeaks collects and posts very select classified documents and videos; mostly of the U.S. and/or of whom it deems its enemy…
It’s pretty damn simple. If you call yourself a “reporter” or “journalist” and say your site conducts such, then you shouldn’t be selective about your targets. And if you are selective while simultaneously calling yourself unbiased, then people will think you’re full of shit and/or have an agenda.
And let’s be real here: the US has done some shady shit, but on the long list of “atrocities” we are WAY WAY below all the countries Assange conspicuously doesn’t “report” on.
Does this mean Assange should’ve reported the atrocity?
What crime has he committed?
Says who?
And people wonder why the hatred for America is so prevalent. The U.S. soldiers killed non-combatant and then laughed about it. What would be the response if this was done in our country?
Engaging in espionage and the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material. Wikileaks is not a journalistic organization and Assad is not a journalist. They are essentially agents of Russian military intelligence (GRU).
Expound on this. You’re alleging legal misconduct on the part of the United States. There are three legally defined international crimes that fall under the “atrocity” umbrella: genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. All require the intentional and illegal use of force as a matter of policy against protected persons or groups of persons.
Contrary to your poorly evidence position, the US military has clearly demonstrated a strong culture of risk management and adherence to the laws of war at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels over the last two decades. Have targeting mistakes been made? Sure. Have rogue individuals intentionally targeted civilians? Unfortunate, yes in isolated occurrences. But these tragedies aren’t a matter of policy. The US has by and large adhered to the legal principles of military necessity, distinction between combatants and non-combatants, and proportionality. In fact, the US Department of Defense has more lawyers (many focused on the laws of war) than the State Department has diplomats.
Is it your contention that U.S. war crimes should not be reported? So the gunning down of non-combatants and laughing about it is okay?
He reported material given to him by Manning. Was Ellsberg a criminal because of the material(Pentagon Papers) he gave to reporters at The Washington Post?
Wow, all you have is the propaganda fed to you by “official” documents, not the real thing. Was the gunning down of non-combatant a “mistake”? Should that not have been reported?
Clearly from your no evidence position, you’d like to blame the atrocities on “mistakes” and “rogue individuals” and believe they are isolated occurrences. And it is believable to you because it actually doesn’t say it’s a matter of policy and the amount of lawyers the Dept. of Defense has.
Obviously, he read only half of the quoted paragraph, Bismark. Are you telling me other nations have not committed war crimes? Why not expose Iran’s decades of terrorism across the middle east and the world?
How about invading countries and declaring their soldiers to be “unlawful enemy combatants” and then kidnapping many to be tortured and held without charge in places like Guantanamo Bay. Look at this guy named Omar Khadr, he was a child at the time he was arrested.
Like which country? Israel? They do a lot of illegal stuff too, but not on the same scale as the US. The USSR and China back in the cultural revolution days was worse that the US now, but that is old news.
Remember they invaded Afghanistan after 9/11, and 18 years later still can’t win the war despite killing hundreds of thousands. Perhaps that was not the correct approach.