Wilhelm Keitel Quotes
The troops are therefore empowered and are in duty bound in this war to use without mitigation even against women and children any means that will lead to success.
United States. Office of Chief of Counsel for the Prosecution of Axis Criminality. Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, Vol. 5. United States Government Printing Office, 1946, p. 531.
Calley was the officer who gave orders to kill men, women and children of My Lai, a Vietnam village which Army intelligence felt had been sympathetic and given help and assistance to the Viet Cong. Calley was convicted by Court Marshall, but was released after serving a very light sentence. No one above Cally was held in any way responsible.
Germany had invaded and occupied much of Europe. These two fronts accounted for the majority of the German casualties. The Germans not only violated the Geneva Convention and the Laws of War repeatedly, but as you can see from this quotation, it was deliberate policy. Keitel was tried and hanged after the war. See {621438} .
In WWII the Germans bombed London causing many civilian casualties. In retaliation, the allies bombed German cities such as Hamburg and others. The resolution’s effect was very short lived. There are similar restrictions in the Geneva Conventions but again, if one side breaks the conventions, most other sides will retaliate. Note that in the 3rd condition, the one that is most contentious in the 21st century “negligence” is the operative word. An error or mistake is not necessarily or even usually negligence. Many people believe that international law prohibits the bombing of civilians from reading 3) and similar statements from treaties. However, an honest error, mistake or equipment malfunction which kills
This is true. There never has been any International law that made a belligerent responsible for civilian damages and deaths that were the result of collateral damage. However, the United States over the years, more so than any other country. Provided huge amount of aid to the citizens of the enemy nations although there was no legal obligation to do so.
Hamas had fired thousands of rockets and other missiles at Israeli population centers—war crimes under the Geneva Conventions. Israel finally retaliated against Hamas facilities in Gaza. However, in an unprecedented effort to avoid civilian casualties, the Israeli Defense Forces warned the people by indicating which targets they were going to strike. They also dropped leaflets in Arabic telling the civilians that they are not the targets but to try and avoid harm to them and their families, they should evacuate the neighborhoods that would be under attack. Hamas had placed their missile launchers and other weapons in and near schools, hospitals, mosques and civilian housing risking their civilian population—see {640841}.
Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel was a German field marshal and war criminal who held office as Chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's Armed Forces, during the Second World War. In that capacity, Keitel signed a number of criminal orders and directives that led to a war of unprecedented brutality and criminality.
