[Peace-discuss] FW: Resisters to Militarism on Trial Today -- Interviews Available

Tue Feb 28 18:09:59 UTC 2017

Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)

From: Boyle, Francis A
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2017 12:09 PM
To: 'SECTNS.aals at lists.aals.org' <SECTNS.aals at lists.aals.org>
Subject: Resisters to Militarism on Trial Today -- Interviews Available

Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)

From: Institute for Public Accuracy . [mailto:ipa at accuracy.org]
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2017 11:56 AM
To: francis.a.boyle at gmail.com<mailto:francis.a.boyle at gmail.com>
Subject: Resisters to Militarism on Trial Today -- Interviews Available

[http://app.meltwaterpress.com/mpress/statistic.html?accessCode=16387df5f2dd69a613390fe2ab676539b7e5db24&distributionId=521892&contact=francis.a.boyle@gmail.com]

Resisters to Militarism on Trial Today<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.accuracy.org_&d=DwMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=ZL1Vbu64G11jiSWs1nGO4w44Zymu0n99RDk8VVDrQFY&m=dUDjxFrYAcRZBRLXy-ntwdUMZSEtyS2l1ysGWJ-dBbM&s=OZ1WETXA1n8KzEnif_rmb8m5pcCIy7IhLSAkmYfJTx0&e=>
The New York Times reports: "Trump to Seek $54 Billion Increase in Military Spending."

On March 19, 2015, on the 12th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, seven members of the Upstate Drone Action Coalition<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__upstatedroneaction.org_&d=DwMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=ZL1Vbu64G11jiSWs1nGO4w44Zymu0n99RDk8VVDrQFY&m=dUDjxFrYAcRZBRLXy-ntwdUMZSEtyS2l1ysGWJ-dBbM&s=4jRrJh-iMShrqyzIBj7ZxLkQZK-MX_WaSO9Pskm7PAY&e=> were arrested at Hancock Air Base outside Syracuse, New York. The group states<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__vcnv.org_2017_02_22_for-2Dimmediate-2Drelease_&d=DwMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=ZL1Vbu64G11jiSWs1nGO4w44Zymu0n99RDk8VVDrQFY&m=dUDjxFrYAcRZBRLXy-ntwdUMZSEtyS2l1ysGWJ-dBbM&s=MZneriNxwJQC32pYLdUSewstfKnJA_W5H6DaxzUfhtY&e=> that the protesters "were nonviolently protesting Hancock’s lethal and illegal use of MQ9 Reaper drones over Afghanistan and elsewhere.

"The seven deployed huge (7x4 feet) replicas of four books across the main entrance of Hancock, the home of the 174th Attack Wing of the New York National Guard -- a major hunter/killer Reaper drone hub. The books were: the UN Charter; Jeremy Scahill’s Dirty Wars; NYU and Stanford Law School’s "Living Under Drones<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__chrgj.org_wp-2Dcontent_uploads_2012_10_Living-2DUnder-2DDrones.pdf&d=DwMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=ZL1Vbu64G11jiSWs1nGO4w44Zymu0n99RDk8VVDrQFY&m=dUDjxFrYAcRZBRLXy-ntwdUMZSEtyS2l1ysGWJ-dBbM&s=c333MlX2yEMc2fKvdYqlN9_sDwPQ29e1Wdq8uKmgJSM&e=>;" and Reprieve’s human rights report “You Never Die Twice<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.reprieve.org_wp-2Dcontent_uploads_2014-5F11-5F24-5FPUB-2DYou-2DNever-2DDie-2DTwice-2DMultiple-2DKills-2Din-2Dthe-2DUS-2DDrone-2DProgram-2D1.pdf&d=DwMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=ZL1Vbu64G11jiSWs1nGO4w44Zymu0n99RDk8VVDrQFY&m=dUDjxFrYAcRZBRLXy-ntwdUMZSEtyS2l1ysGWJ-dBbM&s=yRbHzuU0bkEEEvCgulTevDjUOhuLjzJIdB_BKEEAQ_c&e=>."

"Five of the seven [protesters] are charged with Obstructing Governmental Administration (a misdemeanor requiring a jury and carrying a maximum one-year sentence), trespass, and two counts of disorderly conduct. ... Originally scheduled for trial in late November 2016, the trial was postponed until February 28 so a new jury pool could be called in order to assure [James Ricks, who is an African American Muslim] a 'jury of his peers'."

JAMES RICKS, cell: (607) 280-7794<tel:(607)%20280-7794>, chavoc32 at gmail.com<mailto:chavoc32 at gmail.com>

    One of the defendants, Ricks said today: "I first started doing social activism work when my child witnessed someone getting shot by a police officer. I became active with the Shawn Greenwood Truth and Reconciliation group, named for the person who was shot. It was there that someone from the Catholic Worker told me about an anti drone killing meeting.

    "I learned that our government is assassinating people in other countries and this violates the UN Charter -- which, as a treaty, the Constitution says is the supreme law of the land. But the judges and police are ignoring that. We're working to uphold such laws. Our country isn't supposed to use violence or even the threat of violence without proper authorization, which it didn't get when it invaded Iraq.

    "Yesterday I saw George W. Bush on TV talking about how power is seductive and corrosive. Well, he illegally invaded Iraq and was never held to meaningful account.

    "Everyone in our group takes an oath of nonviolence when we try to expose what they are doing at this military base.

   "I also do this because I went to Pakistan to learn more about drone killing. People were so friendly -- they so want to build a better relationship with people in the U.S. ...

    "And now it's troubling that Trump is calling for more military spending. He's appealing to people's anger over many of the wrong things.

    "Targeted assassinations with these drone wars are war crimes. Too many people have become distracted or overwhelmed and just ignore this -- or actually celebrate war crimes as some kind of patriotic victory. It's not and we need to work to stop it."

ELLEN GRADY, (607) 279-8303<tel:(607)%20279-8303>, demottgrady6 at gmail.com<mailto:demottgrady6 at gmail.com>

    Grady is part of the Ithaca New York Catholic Worker movement, which has been a key part of organizing against the U.S. government killer drone assassinations program outside Hancock Air Force Base in upstate New York.

ED KINANE, (315) 478-4571<tel:(315)%20478-4571>, edkinane at verizon.net<mailto:edkinane at verizon.net>

    Kinane is author of several pieces on drone assassinations for Truthout<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.truth-2Dout.org_author_itemlist_user_45267&d=DwMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=ZL1Vbu64G11jiSWs1nGO4w44Zymu0n99RDk8VVDrQFY&m=dUDjxFrYAcRZBRLXy-ntwdUMZSEtyS2l1ysGWJ-dBbM&s=KgfIoaueYNouA1QGE4FmYcqCsD0RrfLv_JUNuuqLPVU&e=>, including "Exposing The Killer Drones Of Hancock Airbases's 174th Attack Wing," "Drone Surveillance Is No Longer Just 'Over There'" and "Weaponized Drones And The Phony 'War On Terror'."
[https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif]

DANIEL BURNS and Fr. BILL PICKARD, cell: (570) 498-3789<tel:(570)%20498-3789>, FrPickard at stjosephscenter.org<mailto:FrPickard at stjosephscenter.org>

    Burns stated: “Drone warfare kills many innocents, including children. As a father of three beautiful children, I’m morally obligated to try and stop drone warfare. People of conscience must do everything in our power to stop such violations of human rights and international law.”

For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020<tel:(202)%20347-0020>, (202) 421-6858<tel:(202)%20421-6858>; David Zupan, (541) 484-9167<tel:(541)%20484-9167>

February 28, 2017

Institute for Public Accuracy
980 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045
(202) 347-0020<tel:(202)%20347-0020> * accuracy.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__accuracy.org_&d=DwMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=ZL1Vbu64G11jiSWs1nGO4w44Zymu0n99RDk8VVDrQFY&m=dUDjxFrYAcRZBRLXy-ntwdUMZSEtyS2l1ysGWJ-dBbM&s=vv0LuBYMkuCezLfdf-qSilQN6WyyNV2ujOHb_yOcg50&e=> * ipa at accuracy.org<mailto:ipa at accuracy.org>

DECLARATION OF FRANCIS A. BOYLE
            Pursuant to 28 USC 1746, Francis A. Boyle declares under penalty of perjury:
1. I am a Professor of Law at the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign, Illinois.  I hold a Doctor of Law Magna Cum Laude from Harvard Law School and an A.M. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Government, where I specialized in International Political Science and its relationship to International Law.  I graduated from the same Harvard Ph.D. Program that produced Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Samuel Huntington et al. before me.  My resume is attached to this Declaration and is hereby incorporated by reference.
2. I am an expert in International Law and Foreign Policy.  I have studied, read, taught, and written extensively in these areas, and have been qualified as an expert witness in several courts across the country and abroad.  I also currently teach a course on The Constitutional Law of U.S. Foreign Affairs.  Previously, I taught the course here on Criminal Law for several years.
3. I have been qualified as an Expert and testified in U.S. military court-martial proceedings involving (1) U.S.M.C. Corporal Jeff Paterson (1990); (2) U.S. Army Captain Doctor Yolanda Huet-Vaugn (1991); (3) U.S. Army Captain Lawrence Rockwood (1995); (4) U.S. Army Reserve Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia (2003); and (5) U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada (2006).
4. In 1983 the United States Military Academy at West Point invited me to lecture and debate before their 21st Senior Conference on Nuclear Deterrence on the subject of Nuclear Deterrence and International Law.  The audience consisted of about 200 high-level officials from the United States government in charge of U.S. nuclear weapons policies, both military and civilian.  Sitting in the audience for my entire presentation was the 3-Star General in charge of War Operations at the Pentagon.
5. Starting in October of 2001, the United States war against Afghanistan has been and still is an illegal war of aggression that violates the United Nations Charter (1945), the Nuremberg Charter (1945), the Nuremberg Judgment (1946), and the Nuremberg Principles (1950).  Therefore the U.S. war against Afghanistan constitutes a Nuremberg Crime against Peace against the State of Afghanistan, its Taliban Government, Taliban government officials, Taliban combatants, and the citizens of Afghanistan.  The reasons for these conclusions are set forth in two scholarly essays I have published: George Bush, Jr., September 11 and the Rule of Law, in my book The Criminality of Nuclear Deterrence 16-39 (Clarity Press: 2002); and No War Against Afghanistan!, in my book Tackling America’s Toughest Questions 24-38 (Clarity Press: 2009).  I have attached copies of these essays to this Declaration and hereby incorporate them by reference.
6. In addition, I also wish to draw to the Court’s attention the memoirs by Richard A. Clark, Chairman of the Counter-terrorism Security Group at the White House under President George Bush Jr. on September 11, 2001, Against All Enemies (2004), at page 24: “When later in the discussion [on the evening of Sept. 11, with Bush and his crisis advisors], Secretary Rumsfeld noted that international law allowed the use of force only to prevent future attacks and not for retribution, Bush nearly bit his head off.  ‘No,’ the President yelled in the narrow conference room, ‘I don’t care what the international lawyers say, we are going to kick some ass.’” (Emphasis added.)
7.         The Nuremberg Crime Against Peace has been expressly incorporated into Department of the Army Field Manual 27-10, The Law of Land Warfare (1956), which in relevant part provides as follows:
Section II.  CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
            498.  Crimes Under International Law
Any person, whether a member of the armed forces or a civilian, who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible therefor and liable to punishment.  Such offenses in connection with war comprise:

a.     Crimes against peace.

b.     Crimes against humanity.

c.     War crimes.
….
8.         U.S. Army Field Manual 27-10 (1956) was drafted for the United States Army by then Major Richard R. Baxter.  Professor Baxter later taught me his course on The Laws of War at Harvard Law School.  I was the top student in his class and Professor Baxter recommended me for my current position as a law professor.  Professor Baxter was later elected a Judge on the International Court of Justice, the so-called World Court of the United Nations System.  While he was alive, Professor Baxter was generally considered to be the world’s leading expert on the Laws of War.
9.         Therefore, I am uniquely qualified to testify concerning the relevance of the Laws of War to these proceedings.  The Defendants have asked me to testify.  I have agreed to testify.  I hereby respectfully request this Honorable Court to permit me to testify at this trial.
10.       Since the terrible terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United Government and its Armed Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency have operated in accordance with the Doctrine of the Global Battlefield.  Pursuant thereto, the United States Government, United States Armed Forces as well as the Central Intelligence Agency will target and have targeted with deadly force including and especially by means of drones supposed combatants anywhere in the world:
            And even if the supposed combatants are far from any field of battle.
            And even if the supposed combatants are sleeping in their beds at home at night with their wives and their children far from any field of battle.
            And even if the supposed combatants are citizens of the United States of America.
11.       These and other U.S. targeting doctrines for the declared U.S. Global Battlefield Doctrine by means of drones and otherwise constitute Crimes against Peace, Crimes against Humanity, and War Crimes.
12.       Wherefore I most respectfully request this Honorable Court to permit me to testify in these proceedings.
13.       I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.  I am prepared to testify under oath and answer questions on these and related matters.
            Most respectfully submitted by,

            FRANCIS ANTHONY BOYLE
            Professor of Law
            University of Illinois College of Law
            Law Building
            504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
            Champaign, IL 61820 USA
            217-333-7954 (phone)
            217-244-1478 (fax)

            Signed this 23rd day of
            January 2014, at Champaign, Illinois
Attachments
.       Since the terrible terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United Government and its Armed Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency have operated in accordance with the Doctrine of the Global Battlefield.  Pursuant thereto, the United States Government, United States Armed Forces as well as the Central Intelligence Agency will target and have targeted with deadly force supposed combatants anywhere in the world:
            And even if the supposed combatants are far from any field of battle.
            And even if the supposed combatants are sleeping in their beds at home at night with their wives and their children far from any field of battle.
            And even if the supposed combatants are citizens of the United States of America.
            And apparently even if the supposed combatants are located within the United States of America.
11.       These U.S. targeting doctrines for the declared U.S. Global Battlefield Doctrine have been officially authorized, approved, and justified by, among others:
            1. President Barack Obama, Commander-in-Chief of United States Armed Forces under Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution and thus Commander-in-Chief of everyone involved in these proceedings except for civilians..  President Obama is a distinguished graduate of the Harvard Law School and used to teach law at the University of Chicago Law School.
2. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, including but not limited to a March 2012 speech he delivered at Northwestern Law School in Chicago, Illinois at the specific request of their Dean Daniel Rodriguez and for which he received standing ovations by the Northwestern Law Professors in attendance.
3. General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Defense, Mr. Jeh Johnson.
4. Legal Adviser to the United States Department of State, Yale Law Dean and Law Professor Harold Koh, who has now returned to teach at Yale Law School.
5. Mr. John Brennan, Counter-terrorism Advisor to President Obama at the White House and now Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency as confirmed by the United States Senate.
6. Two Law Professors working for the Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel: Harvard Law Professor David Barron, who has now returned to teach at Harvard Law School; and Georgetown Law Professor Martin Lederman, who has now returned to teach at Georgetown Law School.
7. Numerous Members of the Honorable United States House of Representatives and Numerous Members of the Honorable United States Senate, many of whom are distinguished Lawyers with substantial Legal Experience and Credentials.

Disclaimer: This email was sent to francis.a.boyle at gma<mailto:francis.a.boyle at gma>
Institute for Public Accuracy, 980 National Press Building, Washington, DC, 20045, United States
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