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[Previous entry: "The downside of neutrals"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Crossing the line II"] 29 July 2003: "Crossing the line"Via Pedantry, I was alerted to a WaPo article, "U.S. Adopts Aggressive Tactics on Iraqi Fighters." The paragraph many bloggers are choking on is this one: Col. David Hogg, commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, said tougher methods are being used to gather the intelligence. On Wednesday night, he said, his troops picked up the wife and daughter of an Iraqi lieutenant general. They left a note: "If you want your family released, turn yourself in." Such tactics are justified, he said, because, "It's an intelligence operation with detainees, and these people have info." They would have been released in due course, he added later.On the face of it, Colonel Hogg and his subordinates appear to have violated the Geneva Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War which the US has ratified. The brigade's actions arguably constitute "unlawful confinement of a protected person" or "taking of hostages," both of which are described in Article 147 as "grave breaches" of the Convention. This is all made quite clear in US Army field manual FM 27-10 "The Law of Land Warfare," which I would hope a full colonel of the US Army would be at least passingly familiar with. Frankly, I'd like to know why Colonel Hogg has not yet been suspended from his command pending a criminal investigation. It's possible there are extenuating circumstances, but I can't derive any from the article as written. Certainly, the presence and wording of the note left at the Iraqi lieutenant-general's house indicates that this is in effect a hostage-taking. Follow-up: see also next entry. |
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