From: barrey@Novell.com (Barrey Jewall)
Subject: Re: Burying of POWs, not in Combat [was: **** ANOTHER COVER-UP ]
Organization: Novell, Inc.
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 23:28:54 GMT

In <1992Oct5.144949.18486@ousrvr.oulu.fi> dfo@tko.vtt.fi 
(Foxvog Douglas) writes:

>The original article stated that the author had heard from four different DS
>veterans that Iraqi POWs had been ordered to lie in a trench/pit and 
>then they were buried.  This is a violation of Geneva Conventions on
>treatment of Prisoners of War.

Agreed.

>This is NOT the same as the burying of Iraqi troops in their trenches
>during their resistance...

Again, agreed.

>Is anyone out there willing to support the alleged activity, the burying
>of Prisoners of War?

I don't think there is any support for this stand among rational people.

>Are pro-war people willing to label
>such activity, IF IT OCCURRED, a war crime? 

Yes, it would be categorized as a war crime. It is in direct violation
of the Geneva Convention.

>Should such a charge be 
>investigated?

I'm sure if there was any evidence of it, the media would be screaming
bloody murder about it. Yes, if credible evidence supports the 
assertion that American (or any other forces) murdered POW's, it 
should be thoroughly investigated.

> If not, is it because US troops should be allowed to
>murder prisoners (in certain circumstances)

I reject this assertion. (not that you are advocating it..)

>because we shouldn't make
>such activities public, because it isn't important, 

I also reject these "reasons".

or because we refuse
>to believe that OUR BOYS would do such a thing so it must be a lie which
>we won't dignify with an investigation?  Or some other reason?

I can't believe that any officer currently serving in the US Armed Forces
would be able to order the execution of EPOW's. Too many of them served 
in VietNam, where the enemy did that and worse to our troops.

However, if there exists credible evidence that these assertions
have merit, let them be investigated extremely thoroughly, and
let the party found guilty of ordering these hypothetical
executions suffer the penalty of law. I believe that's death.

By the way, several Japanese officers were tried, convicted, and 
executed for ordering the execution of American POW's in 
WWII. They decided that they could not afford to either bring
in relief supplies sufficient for both their men and the prisoners,
(who were stuck on some island I forget the name of right now)
and that transportation could not be arranged for the EPW's, so 
they were executed by an officer "of sufficient rank". The 
American High Command knew about this from code intercepts, but 
failed to disclose it until later, because of the way the 
information was obtained.

Notwithstanding my personal beliefs, I fail to see any EVIDENCE
of these assertions. One anonymous message to usenet does not 
a fact make. Even were it not anonymous, the claim is purely
based upon hearsay, which isn't even usable for defining
probable cause.

Again, if this allegation had any merit, the media would be 
screaming for George Bush's head on a platter.

Bah.		

--
+ Barrey Jewall - Network  Admin.++  and yea, though I walk through the shadow 
+ barrey@novell.com	         ++ of death, I shall fear no evil, for I am
+ Novell, Inc.- San Jose, Calif. ++ the meanest sonofabitch in the valley...