By Michel Chossudovsky
[Part II of this article will be published in late October 2024]
1. Introduction: International Law.
Western Governments’ “Complicity in Genocide”
A genocide is being conducted by the Netanyahu proxy government against the people of Palestine.
By supporting Israel, Western governments are “complicit” in the conduct of genocide under Articles III and IV of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Article III (e) Complicity in genocide.
Article IV. Persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in article III shall be punished [Article III(e)], whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals.” *emphasis added)
2. VIDEO: Michel Chossudovsky
It is important that the peace movement take cognizance of the fact that their own heads of State and heads of government, namely Biden, Starmer, Trudeau, Macron, Scholz, et. al. (see them smiling) are from a legal standpoint “complicit” (Genocide Convention), inasmuch as they are supportive of Israel’s atrocities committed against the People of Palestine.
“La classe politique criminalisée”.
It’s the “criminalization of politics”.
Persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in article III shall be punished [article III e], whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals.
THEY ARE CRIMINALS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
THEY ARE LIABLE: “PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT”
QUESTION THEIR LEGITIMACY
This is a powerful instrument for the anti-war movement.
Confront your “responsible rulers” and “public officials”, not to mention the Big Money and financial institutions who are behind the war.
There is another dimension, The Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC).
Since World War II, all U.S.-led wars have deliberately targeted civilians, which is a crime against humanity under The Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), which consists in:
“….respect for and protection of the civilian population and civilian objects, the Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives.” [Additional Protocol 1, Article 48]
Remember Fallujah, Iraq 2006
3. Partners in Crime
While the IDF is responsible for the conduct of the atrocities, the U.S. War Machine is a partner in crime. The conduct of the genocide has been planned for several years in consultation with the Pentagon and NATO.
Israel’s Secret Intelligence Memorandum
An official “secret” memorandum authored by Israel’s Ministry of Intelligence “is recommending the forcible and permanent transfer of the Gaza Strip’s 2.2 million Palestinian residents to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula”, namely to a refugee camp in Egyptian territory. There are indications of Israel-Egypt negotiations as well as consultations with the U.S.
The 10-page document, dated Oct. 13, 2023, bears the logo of the Intelligence Ministry. …
It recommends a full population transfer as its preferred course of action. …
The document, whose authenticity was confirmed by the ministry, has been translated into English in full here on +972.
Click here to access complete document (10 pages)
The Ministry of Intelligence recommends Option C: “Wiping Palestine off the Map”.
For more details and analysis, see my earlier article entitled
When The Lie Becomes the Truth: “Israel Is the Victim of Palestinian Aggression”. According to the ICC, “There Is No Genocide”. May 25, 2024
4. The genocide against Palestine is part of a broader war.
Israel is a de facto member of NATO and an ally of the U.S.
It is not Israel which is waging a war against Iran. The Pentagon calls the shots on behalf of US-NATO-Israel.
Israel has become an instrument of the Pentagon.
Netanyahu is a proxy. Israel does not act without the consent of US-NATO.
What Is Washington’s Unspoken Intent? Let Your Allies Do the Dirty Work for You?
Flash back to 2005: At the outset of Bush’s second term, Vice President Dick Cheney dropped a bombshell, hinting that Israel would, so to speak, be doing the dirty work for us (paraphrase) without US military involvement and without us putting pressure on them “to do it”.
According to Cheney: (2005)
“The Israelis might well decide to act first, and let the rest of the world worry about cleaning up the diplomatic mess afterwards,”
Israel would not be able to act unilaterally against Iran, without a green light from the Pentagon which controls key components of Israel’s air defense system.
America’s NATO allies, most of which are members of the European Union, are also “doing the dirty work” for the Pentagon. This is abundantly clear in their actions in support of the Kiev regime.
5. US Central Command’s (USCENTCOM) Strategy of “Dual Containment”
In practice, a war on Iran were it to occur, would be a joint US-NATO-Israeli endeavor, coordinated by US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with America’s allies playing a key (subordinate) role.” (Quoted from my 2018 article)
The “War on Iran” has been on the drawing board of the Pentagon since the mid-1990s under US Central Command’s (USCENTCOM) “‘Strategy of Dual Containment’ directed against the Rogue States of Iraq and Iran” formulated during the Clinton administration.
“First Iraq, then Iran”: The stockpiling and deployment of advanced weapons systems directed against Iran started in the immediate wake of the 2003 bombing and invasion of Iraq.
From the outset, these war plans were led by the US, in liaison with NATO and Israel. The objective of the war on Iran was carefully outlined by US Central Command in liaison with US Strategic Command:
“The broad national security interests and objectives expressed in the President’s National Security Strategy (NSS) and the Chairman’s National Military Strategy (NMS) form the foundation of the United States Central Command’s theater strategy. The NSS directs implementation of a strategy of dual containment of the rogue states of Iraq and Iran as long as those states pose a threat to U.S. interests, to other states in the region, and to their own citizens.
Dual containment is designed to maintain the balance of power in the region without depending on either Iraq or Iran. USCENTCOM’s theater strategy is interest-based and threat-focused. The purpose of U.S. engagement, as espoused in the NSS, is to protect the United States’ vital interest in the region – uninterrupted, secure U.S./Allied access to Gulf oil.” (USCENTCOM, 1995, emphasis added)
USCENTCOM’s statement confirms the criminal nature of Washington’s military agenda:
“dual containment of the rogue states”,
“protect the US’s vital interests in the region”
“Secure US / Allied access to Gulf Oil”, through military intervention
rather than bona fide “trade” with partner countries.
6. “United States’ Vital Interest in the Region – Uninterrupted, Secure U.S./Allied Access to Gulf Oil”
i. Iran: Third Largest Reserves of Oil Worldwide
Iran is not only second in terms of its gas reserves after Russia, it ranks third worldwide in relation to its oil reserves (12% of worldwide oil reserves) versus a meagre 4% for the U.S.
THAT IS WHY THEY WANT TO INVADE IRAN (USCENTCOM, 1995)
ii. Iran Reserves of Natural Gas
Iran ranks second after Russia. Russia, Iran and Qatar possess 54.1 percent of the world’s reserves of natural gas.
Russia, 24.3%,
Iran, 17.3%,
Qatar, 12.5 % (in partnership with Iran)
versus 5.3 % for the US.
iii. Taking Control of the Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Maritime Gas Corridor
Extending from the Egyptian border, Gaza and the Levant coastline, the unspoken objective is to take control and confiscate the maritime gas reserves.
GAS Reserves. “It’s America’s Promised Land,”(which ironically are portrayed as a threat to the environment, i.e. CO2 and the fake global warming narrative).
Part II —which provides a timeline and history of US wars against Iran— will be published on my Substack in late October 2024.
Michel Chossudovsky is an award-winning author, Professor of Economics (emeritus) at the University of Ottawa, Founder and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), Montreal, Editor of Global Research.
28 October 2024
Source: michelchossudovsky.substack.com