Obama: The Unlikely War Criminal guest post by Dakotah Lilly

Abdulrahman Anwar al-Awlaki was sixteen years old when Barack Obama, then president of the United States, and unofficial leader of the “free world” ordered he be incinerated by a drone strike. Al-Awlaki was an American citizen, although his extrajudicial murder would have you believe otherwise. To add insult to injury, his father was murdered by drone just two weeks prior; earning the unfortunate distinction of being the first American citizen killed by drone. Under Obama, seven nations were and continue to be, bombed. These nations include Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan, not to mention the nations affected by other forms of warfare such as sanctions and embargoes. In 2009 Obama and Biden, aided by a supermajority in the house and senate, arrived on a rainbow of hope, but for millions of working families, and counted more across the world, the last administration has been nothing more than rhetoric and political double speak in favor of the ruling class. Obama and the majority, if not all of his administration, should be tried for war crimes, and I believe, found guilty. 

    “I am under attack by the biggest force in military history, my little African son, Obama wants to kill me, to take away the freedom of our country, to take away our free housing, our free medicine, our free education, our free food, and replace it with American style thievery, called “capitalism,” but all of us in the Third World know what that means, it means corporations run the countries, run the world, and the people suffer, so, there is no alternative for me, I must make my stand, and if Allah wishes, I shall die by following his path, the path that has made our country rich with farmland, with food and health, and even allowed us to help our African and Arab brothers and sisters to work here with us, in the Libyan Jammohouriyah.” These are some of the last words of Libya’s last leader, Muammar Gaddafi. He was murdered by US backed rebels and sodomized with a bayonet shortly after. The NATO bombing and informal invasion of Libya will go down as one of the most embarrassing aspects of American foreign policy under the Obama regime. Thousands of civilians have died because of NATO intervention, social and physical infrastructure has been destroyed, and the African nation with the highest Human Development Index has been destroyed and made into a haven for wahhabi terrorists, including ISIS. When asked about the murder of Gaddafi, Obama’s secretary of state, Hillary Clinton said only “we came, we saw, he died” with a giggle. Imagine if another nation had bombed the United States and then one of its leaders gloated and laughed about it clearly with a clear conscience. In Libya, healthcare, electricity and education were free, new mothers got $5,000, newlyweds $50,000. Libya was also home to the worlds largest irrigation project, providing clean water to its citizens, something the United States today still fails to do. Libya today has no national police, no military, its borders are closed with several nations, ISIS controls parts of the country, human trafficking is rampant and arms flow freely through the region. This intervention did not meet any of the three criterion for the use of force established under international law, yet nobody but the people of Libya have payed a price. 

    On 25 November 2016, Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary and longtime leader died of natural causes. This was itself a victory for supporters of Castro, as he died of natural causes and not of a poisoned scuba suit, explosive cigar, or one of the 700 plus methods the CIA and US government employed to murder the leader of yet another sovereign leader. For the vast majority of the Obama administration, the international community through the UN general assembly had called on the US to rescind the embargo against the people of Cuba. The International community was unanimous, except of course for 3 states, the US, Israel, and Palau. Considering the fact that two of the three states are essentially satellites of the remaining one, it is safe to count the vote as unanimous. It has not just been Cuba that was been the victim of the Obama administration’s wrath in Latin and South America. From instructing European powers to violate international law that stipulates that presidential aircraft receive immunity in order to search the plane of Evo Morales, to categorizing Venezuela as a threat to the United States, to supporting a soft coup against the democratically elected leader of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff. The Obama administrations hostility toward independent South American governments is not new American policy, however. From Chile under Allende, to the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, the United States has long cast a bloody shadow over the nations of the global south. 

    Under Obama, the largest arms deal in the history of the United States too effect. The deal provides 60 billion dollars of arms to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Yes, the same nation that routinely invades, bombs, levels, and murders across the globe in pursuit of so called “democracy” and “freedom” has signed a weaponry deal to Saudi Arabia. The same Saudi Arabia influenced by Wahhabism, where it is punishable by death to be gay or to practice “sorcery”, where it is illegal for women to drive or leave the house without a man, where a common punishment for adultery is lashings with a whip. Perhaps the weapons will be used for good? Is that even possible? Not likely. More than likely these weapons were used to murder thousands in Yemen as part of the Saudi suppression of the Yemenis population. According to Reuters “A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition has carried out attacks in Yemen that "may amount to war crimes," U.N. sanctions monitors reported to the world body's Security Council, warning coalition allies including the United States, Britain and France that they are obligated to respect international humanitarian law. The annual report by the experts who monitor sanctions and the conflict in Yemen, seen by Reuters on Saturday, investigated 10 coalition air strikes between March and October that killed at least 292 civilians, including some 100 women and children.” Did the Obama administration give any thought to this before signing a record breaking arms deal with such a deplorable regime? Probably not, as they also have voiced support for Israeli war crimes through historic aid deals, as well as support for Neo-Nazis in the Ukraine. Obama and his administration obviously have no regard for human rights in any capacity if they have the ability to turn a blind eye or materially support such atrocities. 

    I would love nothing more than to be wrong. I would love nothing more than to have a president that stands for international peace, reconciliation, cooperation and justice (hasn’t happened in my lifetime). When provided the facts, it is hard to argue that the administration of Barack Obama has been peaceful. This is not excusing the imperialist, colonialist, war mongering ways of any previous presidents or our current president, but the hope that people had for peace and change with the election of Obama and the democratic wave in congress just makes the disappointment of the same people even more disengaging. When asked if he would seek accountability for George Bush, Obama said we must look forward. If I go out and run down a few pedestrians with my car, can I plead that we must “look forward” now? If I can’t why can people who have broken international law, killed millions, injured countless, created widows and orphans, disregarded sovereignty, and violated the constitution plead such a ludicrous defense? Perhaps I need a friend in the oval office who can protect me the way Bush had Obama, and now Obama has Trump.


Bibliography
 
Fisk, Robert. "America siding with 'terrorists' like al-Nusra? It's not a conspiracy theory." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 14 June 2015. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

"Libya: Ten Things About Gaddafi They Don’t Want You to Know." Global Research. N.p., 16 May 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

Nevradakis, Michael. "Brazil’s Manufactured Coup: The 'Shock Doctrine' Returns To Latin America." MintPress News. N.p., 18 Feb. 2017. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

Blum, William. America's deadliest export: democracy: the truth about US foreign policy and everything else. London: Zed , 2014. Print.

Sheehan, Cindy. The Obama Chronicles. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

GOWANS, STEPHEN. WASHINGTON'S LONG WAR ON SYRIA. S.l.: IPG-ACADEMIC, 2017. Print.

Dakotah lilly is a 19 year old anti imperialist, revolutionary socialist. He is a co founder and organizer with students and youth for a new America and is a frequent guest on PressTv. Facebook: facebook.com/Dakotah.lilly.9
Twitter @dakotah4prez

 

 Dakotah

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This piece was originally a paper for an international law class that Mr. Lilly is taking.
Professors Cancevic and Andemariam

March, 13, 2017