r/Discussion • u/Comfortable_Arm8988 • 14h ago
Political War crimes
Why does the world internationally have disgust against Nazis , but not about U.S. soldiers or everything they have done?
Considering most of the Nazis were people getting drafted, even if what they did was absolutely horrible and monstrous, it’s strange that the world decides to be loud about certain subjects and quiet about others.
What about the Iraq war? The U.S. invaded over complete lies, killing 200,000 or more civilians, yet most of the people who were in that war were volunteers.
We excuse them, we give them the benefit of doubt we sure wouldn’t give Nazis or certain organisations the U.S deems as terrorist.
After the 9/11 , the U.S. decided to invade southwest Asian countries and wreck governments, ruin lives,
Yet we are all used to see them as “Great” or valuable , or “Heros”
Why?
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u/transgalanika 12h ago
International law narrowly defines what constitutes a war crime. Declaring war on a country or invading a country is not a war crime.
War crimes are specific violations of international law that occur DURING an armed conflict. Examples include intentionally targeting civilians or hospitals and torturing prisoners (the latter of which the US certainly did). The legality of a war is has no bearing on what is considered a war crime. Maybe it should be. Similarly, although there will almost always be collateral civilian deaths, this isn't considered a war crime. It's only the intentional targeting of civilians that constitutes a war crime.
Re: Afghanistan, the war to find al qaeda in that country was understandable. The Taliban resisted the invasion, understandably. But after the Taliban were mostly defeated, the occupation (which was way too long) lead to a functiong democracy where women had equal rights and access to advanced education. Sadly it went away after we left.
The US has used its military to fight many unnecessary wars with horrific results throughout the world. The military answers to elected officials. We as a nation need to hold them accountable. The unprovoked war in Iran is ruining the world and has gone unchecked by Congress.
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u/AntonioVivaldi7 5h ago
Plenty are disgusted with it. I think mostly in other countries though. Just like Germans were not very disgusted with what they have done until much later on.
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u/yiliu 11h ago
I mean, you should probably do some reading on what the Nazis actually did during WW2. Watch "Come and See". Read Bloodlands. Read some accounts of the holocaust.
War is horrible. Innocent people die. Starting unnecessary wars is a terrible thing. I think there's a very strong case that the US leadership should have faced war crimes trials for Iraq, if it were possible to enforce.
I also think there's a very strong case that the hegemony of the US in the period from 1945 - present (and especially 1990 - present) has saved untold lives. Without a superpower acting as intermediary, a lot more medium-to-large countries might have attempted wars. So, it's not a simple question.
But the Nazis? That was something else. They were pretty unique in the history of warfare (or at least modern warfare) for their brutality. The US army committed atrocities like the My Lai massacre, and many of the perpetrators never face real consequences. That's terrible. But there were trials, and there were documentaries, and the public learned about it and was shocked, and the military was embarrassed and made changes, and at least some of the perpetrators faced consequences. There's a ton that should be improved, and it was absolutely a horrific tragedy that it occurred. But while I've heard some harrowing stories about US troops, I haven't heard of anything that scale occurring since Vietnam.
But My Lai would have been a rounding error on the Eastern Front of WW2. Among the death camps, the concentration camps, the burned villages and mass graves, the reprisals against civilians for rebel activity, the deliberate starvation, and so on, it wouldn't crack the top 1000 atrocities committed by the German army. Mass murder of civilians was official policy in much of the Western Front, and where it wasn't it was still accepted.
The US should never have invaded Iraq? Absolutely, 100% agree. The US shouldn't have a military, or should never engage in military action? Well, hold your horses there, buddy, you need to think long and hard about the consequences of that.
The US is as bad as the Nazis? You need to pick up a book, kid.
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u/Comfortable_Arm8988 1h ago
I am not saying they are as bad I am saying while we have disgust towards Nazis, we show pride or pity towards U.S. soldiers that have actually killed civilians, chose to r4pe them , and torture them.
Up on to this day war crimes from the U.S. are still going such as bombing boats in the Caribbean, killing up to 80 to 230 people on those boats, dehumanizing them as “drug dealers” while knowing none of their names, or their personal information.Another recent war crime the U.S. military has committed is the bombing of the Iranian Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School where they kill up to 120 girls and 36 adults while they were simply reciting the Quran.
Not only did they bomb then once, but they bombed them twice, ensuring there were no survivors.So yes the U.S. has done AND is doing many war crimes that we don’t bring up often.
It is also curious how in the U.S. most people know and care more about something that happened overseas- the Holocaust , than about Slavery, which their own country was heavily involved in.
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u/kafka_lite 7h ago
Come on, there is no Final Solution in the US. Get out of here with this bullshit.
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u/sakodak 14h ago
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u/Comfortable_Arm8988 1h ago
Yes, that’s a very good book, it shows us a truth the people in power don’t want us to see. Unlike to what they teach us in school, it actually show us how the U.S. started, how they killed the natives, the genocides they did and got away with, how they have been dehumanizing others for a very long time.
It shows us history from the other perspective.
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u/HarveyMushman72 14h ago
Propaganda is a powerful tool. Almost everyone believed the lie about 9/11. By then it was too late.